*  »  • 
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"  YOU  LIE  !  "  AND  THE  HARD  FIST  LANDED  SQUARELY  ON  THE  MAN'S  CHIN. 


THE  CAVE  OF  GOLD 


A  TALE  OF  CALIFORNIA  IN  '49 


BY 

EVERETT  McNEIL 

AUTHOR  OF    "FIGHTING  WITH  FREMONT,"    "IN  TEXAS  WITH  DAVY 
CROCKETT,"  "WITH  KIT  CARSON  IN  THE   ROCKIES,"  ETC. 


NEW  YORK 
E.  P.  BUTTON  &  COMPANY 

68 1  FIFTH  AVE. 


BY  E.  P.  BUTTON  &  COMPANY 

First  Printing,  January,  191 1 

Second  Printing,  August,  1919 

Third  Printing,  June,  1926 


Printed  in  the  U.S.A. 


Ul 


U?  1  3 


TO  THE  DESCENDANTS 

YOUNG  OR  OLD 

OF  THE  HARDY  FORTY-NINERS 
THIS  STORY  OF  THE  EXCITING  DAYS 
OF  THE    DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD  IN  CALIFORNIA 
IS  HOPEFULLY  DEDICATED 


M128255 


FOREWORD 

ON  a  cold  January  morning  of  1848,  James  Wil 
son  Marshall  picked  up  two  yellow  bits  of 
metal,  about  the  size  and  the  shape  of  split  peas,  from 
the  tail-race  of  the  sawmill  he  was  building  on  the 
South  Fork  of  the  American  River,  some  forty-five 
miles  northeast  of  Sutter's  Fort,  now  Sacramento 
City.  These  two  yellow  pellets  proved  to  be  gold; 
and  soon  it  was  discovered  that  all  the  region  there 
abouts  was  thickly  sown  with  shining  particles  of 
the  same  precious  yellow  metal.  A  few  months 
later  and  all  the  world  was  pouring  its  most  adven 
turous  spirits  into  the  wilderness  of  California. 

This  discovery  of  gold  in  California  and  the  re 
markable  inpouring  of  men  that  followed,  meant 
yery  much  to  the  United  States.  In  a  few  months 
it  cleared  a  wilderness  and  built  up  a  great  state. 
In  one  step  it  advanced  the  interests  and  the  im 
portance  of  the  United  States  half  a  century  in  the 
policies  and  the  commerce  of  the  Pacific.  It  threw 
wide  open  the  great  doors  of  the  West  and  invited 
the  world  to  enter.  It  poured  into  the  pockets  of 
the  people  and  into  the  treasury  of  the  United 
States  a  vast  amount  of  gold — alas !  soon  to  be  sorely 
needed  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  most  costly  war 


vi  Foreword 

of  the  ages.  Indeed,  when  the  length  and  the 
breadth  of  its  influence  is  considered,  this  discovery 
of  gold  in  California  becomes  one  of  the  most  im 
portant  factors  in  the  developing  of  our  nation,  the 
great  corner-stone  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  West; 
and,  as  such,  it  deserves  a  much  more  important 
place  in  the  history  of  the  United  States  than  any 
historian  has  yet  given  to  it. 

In  the  present  story  an  attempt  has  been  made, 
not  only  to  tell  an  interesting  tale,  but  to  interest 
the  younger  generation  in  this  remarkable  and  dra 
matic  phase  of  our  national  development,  possibly 
the  most  picturesque  and  dramatic  period  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  nation:  to  picture  to  them  how  these 
knights  of  the  pick  and  the  shovel  lived  and  worked, 
how  they  found  and  wrested  the  gold  from  the  hard 
hand  of  nature,  and  to  give  to  them  something  of  an 
idea  of  the  hardships  and  the  perils  they  were 
obliged  to  endure  while  doing  it. 

The  period  was  a  dramatic  period,  crowded  with 
unusual  and  startling  happenings,  as  far  removed 
as  possible  from  the  quiet  commonplaceness  and 
routine  life  of  the  average  boy  and  girl  of  to-day; 
and  the  reader  is  cautioned  to  remember  this — if  dis 
posed  at  any  time  to  think  the  incidents  narrated  in 
the  present  tale  too  improbable  or  too  startling  to 
have  ever  happened — that  they  could  not  happen  to 
day,  even  in  California;  but  they  might  have  all 
happened  then  and  there  in  California. 

The  author  is  one  of  those  who  believe  that  the 


Foreword  vii 

boys  and  the  girls  of  to-day  should  know  something 
of  the  foundation  stones  on  which  the  superstructure 
of  our  national  greatness  rests,  and  how  and  with 
what  toils  and  perils  they  were  laid ;  and,  it  is  in  the 
hope  that  the  reading  of  this  story  will  interest  them 
in  this,  the  laying  of  the  great  corner-stone  in  the 
upbuilding  of  the  West,  that  this  tale  of  the  Dis 
covery  of  Gold  in  California  has  been  written. 
No  nation  can  afford  to  forget  its  builders. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  EL  FEROZ I 

II.  DEATH  OF  THE  MINER 20 

III.  THE  SKIN  MAP 31 

IV.  AT  THE  CONROYAL  RANCHO 37 

V.  OFF  FOR  THE  GOLD-MINES 48 

VI.  THE  SIGN  OF  THE  Two  RED  THUMBS 62 

VII.  CAUGHT  IN  THE  FLOOD 74 

VIII.  ACCUSED  OF  MURDER 87 

IX.  THE  TESTIMONY  OF  BILL  UGGER 101 

X.  THE  MISSING  BUTTON 123 

XI.  AN  UNEXPECTED  WITNESS 137 

XII.  HAMMER  JONES 153 

XIII.  EXPLANATIONS 171 

XIV.  THE  LUCK  OF  DICKSON 180 

XV.  AROUND  THE  SUPPER  TABLE 191 

XVI.  UNEXPECTED  COMPANY 206 

XVII.  POCKFACE  AGAIN 225 

XVIII.  STORY  OF  THE  GREAT  DISCOVERY 238 

XIX.  SOME  EXCITING  MOMENTS 256 

XX.  ROBBED 266 

XXI.  PEDRO       281 

XXII.  THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  TENT 299 

XXIII.  ON  THE  SHORE  OF  GOOSE  NECK  LAKE 316 

XXIV.  IN  LOT'S  CANYON 326 

XXV.  THE  CAVE  OF  GOLD 344 

XXVI.  THE  CATASTROPHE 363 

XXVII.  HOME       ...          372 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

"YOU  LIE !"  AND  THE  HARD  FIST  LANDED  SQUARELY  ON  THE 

MAN'  s  CHIN Frontispiece 

PAGE 

THE  SKIN  MAP 34 

"YOU  CAN  TURN   YOUR  HORSES   AROUND   AND  RIDE  BACK  THE  WAY 

YOU  CAME" 58 

"Is  THERE  ANY!    JUST  LOOK  THERE!    AND  THERE!    AND  THERE!"  186 

BUD  BENT  AND  STRETCHED  HIS  FREE  HAND  DOWN  TO  MARSHALL  .       .    262 

"IT  is  GOLD!    IT  is  GOLD!    AND  ENOUGH  OF  IT  TO  MAKE  us  ALL 

RICH   BEYOND    OUR   FONDEST   DREAMS" 350 


The  Cave  of  Gold 

CHAPTER  I 

EL   FEROZ 

«\3yHOA!"— "whoa!"  With  quick  jerks  on 
»  •  their  bridle  reins  Thure  Conroyal  and  Bud 
Randolph  pulled  up  their  horses  and  listened  shiv- 
eringly. 

Again  that  same  shrill  whistling  scream  of  dread 
ful  agony  and  fear,  that  had  caused  them  to  rein 
up  their  horses  so  suddenly  a  moment  before,  came 
from  the  valley  beyond  the  brow  of  the  little  hill  up 
which  they  had  been  slowly  riding,  and  chilled  the 
very  marrow  in  their  bones  with  the  terrible  inten 
sity  of  its  fear  and  anguish.  Then  all  was  still. 

"What— what  was  it?"  and  Thure  turned  a 
startled  face  to  Bud.  "It  didn't  sound  human  and 
I  never  heard  an  animal  scream  like  that  before. 
What  can  it  be?" 

"I  don't  know,"  Bud  answered,  his  face  whit 
ening  a  little;  "but  I  am  going  to  find  out.  Come 
on/'  and,  swinging  his  rifle  into  position  where  it 
would  be  ready  for  instant  use,  he  started  up  the 
hill,  his  eyes  fixed  in  the  direction  whence  had  come 
those  fearful  screams. 


2  The  Cave  of  Gold 


"We'd  better  go  a  little  slow,  until  we  find  out 
what  it  is,"  cautioned  Thure,  as  he  quickly  fell  in 
by  the  side  of  Bud,  his  own  rifle  held  ready  for  in 
stant  use.  "It  might  be  Indian  devilment  of  some 
kind.  You  know  dad's  last  letter  from  the  mines 
said  that  the  Indians  were  getting  ugly;  and  if  it  is 
hostile  Indians,  we  want  to  see  them  first." 

"You  bet  we  do,"  was  Bud's  emphatic  rejoinder, 
as  he  again  pulled  up  his  horse.  "Now,  just  hold 
Gray  Cloud  and  I'll  scout  on  ahead  and  see  what's 
going  on  down  there  in  the  valley  before  we  show 
ourselves,"  and,  sliding  swiftly  from  Gray  Cloud's 
back,  he  tossed  his  bridle  rein  to  Thure,  and,  rifle 
in  hand,  started  swiftly  and  as  silently  as  an  Indian 
toward  a  thick  clump  of  bushes  that  grew  directly 
on  the  top  of  the  little  hill. 

Thure  deftly  caught  the  bridle  rein ;  and  then  sat 
silent  and  motionless  on  the  back  of  his  horse,  his 
eyes  on  his  comrade,  waiting  in  tense  expectancy 
for  the  moment  when  he  would  reach  the  clump  of 
bushes  and  look  down  into  the  valley  beyond  and 
see  the  cause  of  those  strange  and  terrible  cries 
that  had  so  suddenly  and  so  fearfully  startled  them. 

Bud,  carrying  his  cocked  rifle  at  trail,  his  form 
bent  so  that  the  least  possible  part  of  his  body 
showed  above  the  grass  of  the  hillside,  ran  swiftly 
until  he  had  almost  reached  the  brow  of  the  hill  and 
the  clump  of  bushes.  Then,  crouching  closer  to 
the  ground,  he  crept  cautiously  and  slowly  to  the 
bushes  and,  gently  working  himself  into  their 


El  Feroz  3 

midst,  carefully  parted  the  branches  in  front  of 
his  face  until  he  had  a  clear  view  of  the  little  valley 
below.  At  the  first  sight  he  uttered  an  exclama 
tion  of  surprise  and  wrath  and  threw  his  rifle  to  his 
shoulder;  but,  with  a  regretful  shake  of  his  head, 
he  almost  instantly  lowered  the  gun,  and,  turning 
quickly  about,  motioned  excitedly  for  Thure  to  ad 
vance  with  the  horses  and  started  on  the  run  to 
meet  him. 

"Indians !  Is  it  Indians  ?"  Thure  cried  anxiously, 
the  moment  Bud  was  at  his  side. 

"No,"  panted  the  boy,  as  he  leaped  into  his  sad 
dle.  "It's  El  Feroz;  and  if  I've  got  anything  to  say 
about  it,  he  has  made  his  last  kill.  Come  on,"  and 
his  eyes  glinted  with  wrath  and  excitement,  as  he 
dug  his  spurs  into  the  flanks  of  Gray  Cloud  and  gal 
loped  furiously  up  the  hill. 

"El  Feroz!  Bully!"  and  Thure,  with  an  ex 
ultant  yell,  struck  the  spurs  into  his  horse  and  gal 
loped  along  by  his  side. 

At  the  top  of  the  hill  both  boys  pulled  up  their 
horses  and  looked  down  into  the  valley.  The  valley 
was  small,  not  more  than  half  a  mile  across,  and 
through  its  center  ran  a  little  stream  of  water, 
'  fringed  with  bushes  and  small  trees.  On  the  near 
side  of  this  fringe  of  trees  and  bushes  and  only  a 
short  distance  from  where  our  two  young  friends 
sat  on  the  backs  of  their  horses,  crouched  a  huge 
grizzly  bear  over  the  body  of  a  horse  that  was  still 
quivering  in  the  death  agony. 


4  The  Cave  of  Gold 

'The  brute!"  exclaimed  Thure  angrily,  the  mo 
ment  his  eyes  had  taken  in  this  scene  of  violence. 
"So  that  was  the  death  scream  of  a  horse  we  heard ! 
Well,  I  never  want  to  hear  another!  But,  we've 
got  you  now,  you  old  villain!"  and  his  eyes  swept 
over  the  little  valley,  free,  except  for  the  fringe  of 
trees  and  bushes,  of  all  obstructions,  exultingly. 
"If  we  let  you  get  away  from  this,  we'll  both  de 
serve  to  be  shot.  Now,"  and  he  turned  to  Bud, 
"you  ride  to  the  right  and  I'll  go  to  the  left  and  we 
will  have  the  brute  between  us,  so  that  if  he  charges 
either  of  us,  the  other  can  take  after  him  and  shoot 
or  rope  him." 

"Good!"  agreed  Bud.  "But,  say,  let's  rope  him 
first.  Just  shooting  is  too  good  for  El  Feroz.  Re 
member  Manuel  and  Old  Pedro,  whom  he  killed, 
and  Jim  Bevins,  whom  he  tore  nearly  to  pieces  and 
crippled  for  life,  to  say  nothing  of  the  cattle  and  the 
horses  he  has  killed.  And  now  that  we  have  him 
where  he  can't  get  away,  I  am  for  showing  him  that 
man  is  his  master,  strong  and  ferocious  as  he  is, 
before  killing  him.  We  could  not  have  picked  out 
a  better  place  for  roping  him,  if  we  had  been  doing 
the  picking,"  and  his  eyes  glanced  over  the  smooth 
level  of  the  little  valley.  "We'll  let  him  chase  us 
until  we  get  him  away  from  the  trees  and  bushes 
along  the  creek,  and  then  we'll  have  some  fun  with 
the  big  brute  with  our  ropes,  before  sending  him  to 
Kingdom  Come  with  our  bullets.  What  do  you 
say,  Thure?" 


El  Feroz  5 

"Well,"  grinned  Thure  reminiscently,  "if  it 
don't  turn  out  better  than  did  our  attempt  to  rope 
a  grizzly  when  I  was  with  Fremont,  I  say  shoot  the 
grizzly  first  and  rope  him  afterward.  Now,  it  won't 
be  no  joke  roping  El  Feroz,  even  if  everything  is  in 
our  favor/'  and  his  face  sobered.  "Still,  I  reckon, 
our  horses  can  keep  us  at  a  safe  distance  from  his 
ugly  claws  and  teeth ;  and  it  will  be  all  right  to  have 
a  try  with  the  ropes  before  we  use  bullets,  but  we've 
got  to  be  careful.  El  Feroz  is  the  largest  and 
ugliest  grizzly  ever  seen  anywhere  around  here, 
and  could  kill  one  of  our  horses  with  one  blow  of 
his  huge  paw.  Mexican  Juan  says  that  an  Indian 
devil  has  taken  possession  of  the  big  brute  and  that 
only  a  silver  bullet  blessed  by  a  priest  can  kill  him ; 
and,  in  proof  of  his  belief,  he  told  me  that  he  him- 
self  had  shot  five  lead  bullets  at  El  Feroz  and  that 
he  had  heard  the  devil  laugh  when  the  bullets  struck 
and  fell  hot  and  flattened  to  the  ground.  Now  he 
always  carries  a  silver  bullet  with  him  that  he  had 
a  priest  bless  when  he  was  down  to  San  Francisco 
last  fall;  and  the  next  time  he  meets  El  Feroz  he 
expects  to  kill  him  with  the  holy  bullet.  He 
showed  me  the  silver  bullet,"  and  Thure  laughed. 
"But  I'm  willing  to  put  my  trust  in  lead,  if  it  hits 
the  right  spot,  Indian  devil  or  no  devil.  Now,  look 
at  El  Feroz.  He  doesn't  seem  to  be  worrying  none 
over  our  presence.  Appears  to  think  the  filling  of 
his  greedy  belly  too  important  an  operation  to  be  in 
terrupted  by  us,"  and  Thure's  eyes  turned  to  where 


6  The  Cave  of  Gold 

the  huge  grizzly  was  tearing  with  teeth  and  claws 
the  carcass  of  the  horse,  his  wicked  little  eyes  turned 
in  their  direction,  but  otherwise  giving  them  not  the 
slightest  attention.  Evidently  El  Feroz  had  only 
contempt  for  the  puny  prowess  of  man. 

"Well,  we'll  soon  teach  him  better  manners,  the 
ugly  brute!  Come  on,"  and  Bud  Randolph  and 
Thure  Conroyal  both  started  slowly  toward  the 
grizzly,  loosening  the  strong  ropes  that  hung  from 
the  pommels  of  their  saddles  as  they  rode. 

There  was  no  need  of  haste.  El  Feroz  would 
not  run  away — not  from  a  good  dinner  like  that  he 
was  now  eating — for  all  the  men  in  California. 
For  four  years  he  had  terrorized  this  part  of  Cali 
fornia,  had  never  once  turned  his  back  to  a  man,  but 
had  seen  the  backs  of  many  men  turned  to  him ;  and 
now  the  killing  of  the  horse  had  aroused  all  the 
ferocity  of  his  savage  nature,  and  he  was  ready  to 
iight  anything  and  everything  that  threatened  to 
rob  him  of  his  prey. 

Thure  Conroyal  and  Bud  Randolph  did  not  for 
a  moment  expect  El  Feroz  to  run,  when  they  rode 
toward  him.  They  knew  grizzly  nature,  especially 
the  ferocious  nature  of  El  Feroz,  too  well  to  dream 
of  such  a  thing.  They  knew  he  would  fight ;  and, 
if  they  had  been  afoot,  they  would  not  have  dared 
to  attack  the  evil  monster,  armed  though  they  were 
with  rifles  and  so  skilful  in  their  use  that  they 
could  cut  the  head  off  a  wild  goose  at  a  hundred 
yards.  But,  seated  on  the  backs  of  their  fleet  and 


El  Feroz  7 

well-trained  horses  and  on  a  smooth  and  open  field 
like  the  one  before  them,  they  did  not  fear  even  El 
Feroz  himself.  If  their  ropes  did  not  hold  or  their 
bullets  kill  at  once,  the  swift  legs  of  their  horses 
could  be  counted  on  to  keep  them  out  of  danger, 
unless  some  unforeseen  mischance  happened. 

The  lassoing  or  roping  of  grizzly  bears  was  a 
sport  often  indulged  in  by  the  native  Californians, 
who  were  among  the  most  skilful  horsemen  in  the 
world  and  marvelously  expert  with  their  lassos  or 
reatas,  as  they  called  the  long  rope,  usually  made 
of  hide  or  woven  horsehair,  which  they  used  to 
catch  their  horses  and  cattle;  and  Thure  Conroyal 
and  Bud  Randolph  had  become  as  expert  as  any 
native  with  their  reatas,  and,  consequently,  felt 
equal  to  the  roping  of  even  as  ferocious  and  as  huge 
a  beast  as  El  Feroz  himself,  the  most  dreaded  griz 
zly  in  the  California  mountains. 

Thure  and  Bud  rode  slowly  toward  the  grizzly, 
one  turning  a  little  to  the  left  and  the  other  to  the 
right  as  he  advanced,  so  that  when  they  drew  near 
to  El  Feroz  there  were  some  five  rods  of  space  be 
tween  them.  They  had  fastened  their  rifles  to  the 
saddles  in  front  of  them,  to  hold  them  safe  and  yet 
have  them  where  they  could  be  quickly  seized  in 
case  of  sudden  need  and  to  give  them  free  use  of 
both  of  their  hands  in  throwing  their  ropes  and  in 
managing  their  horses ;  and  now,  as  they  advanced 
toward  the  bear,  they  uncoiled  their  reatas  and  be 
gan  slowly  swinging  the  loops  around  their  heads 


8  The  Cave  of  Gold 

in  readiness  for  the  throw,  while  every  faculty  of 
their  minds  quickened  and  every  muscle  of  their 
young  bodies  tightened  in  expectation  of  the  com 
ing  battle  that  might  mean  death  to  one  or  both,  if 
either  blundered. 

The  grizzly  glared  furiously,  first  at  one  horse 
man  then  at  the  other,  and  tore  more  savagely  than 
ever  at  the  flesh  of  the  horse,  until  both  boys  were 
almost  upon  him.  Then,  with  a  roar  so  savage  and 
fearful  that  both  horses,  well-trained  as  they  were, 
jumped  violently,  he  reared  up  suddenly  On  his  hind 
legs,  the  blood  of  the  horse  dripping  from  his  red 
dened  teeth,  and,  growling  ferociously  and  sway 
ing  his  huge  head  from  side  to  side,  he  stood,  for 
a  moment,  apparently  trying  to  decide  which  one  of 
those  two  venturesome  humans  he  should  tear  to 
pieces  first. 

"Quick!  Rope  him  around  the  neck  before  he 
charges!"  yelled  Thure.  'Til  try  to  get  one  of  his 
hind  legs." 

As  Thure  spoke  Bud's  lasso  shot  through  the 
air;  and  the  loop  glided  swiftly  over  the  great  head 
and  tightened  suddenly  around  the  hairy  neck,  just 
at  the  moment  the  bear  came  to  the  decision  to 
charge  Thure  and  sprang  toward  him,  with  the  re 
sult  that  the  sudden  unexpectedness  of  the  jerk  of 
Bud's  rope  yanked  him  off  his  feet  and  hurled  him 
on  his  back. 

Thure  instantly  saw  his  opportunity  and  before 
the  huge  beast  could  right  himself,  he  had  swiftly 


El  Feroz  9 

cast  the  loop  of  his  rope  around  one  of  the  sprawl 
ing  hind  legs  and  drawn  it  tight. 

"Hurrah!  We've  got  him!"  yelled  Bud  trium 
phantly,  as  Gray  Cloud  whirled  about  and  stood  fac 
ing  the  grizzly,  his  strong  body  braced  backward  so 
that  he  held  the  rope  taut,  as  all  well-broken  Cali 
fornia  horses  were  trained  to  do  the  moment  the 
thrown  rope  caught  its  victim. 

"Got  him!  You  bet  we've  got  him!"  echoed 
Thure,  as  his  own  horse  whirled  into  position,  with 
both  front  legs  strongly  braced,  and  drew  the  lasso 
tight  about  bruin's  hind  leg,  thus  stretching  him 
out  between  the  ends  of  the  two  reatas. 

But  they  had  not  "got  him" — not  yet;  for,  just  at 
that  moment,  all  the  ferocious  bulk  of  raging  bone 
and  muscle  that  had  given  El  Feroz  his  name  of 
terror,  gave  a  tremendous  heave,  whirled  over  on 
its  feet;  and,  before  either  boy  knew  what  was  hap 
pening,  Bud's  lasso  broke  and  about  a  ton  of  angry 
bear  was  hurling  itself  toward  Thure. 

The  unforeseen  mischance  had  happened  with  a 
vengeance ! 

Bud  uttered  a  yell  of  warning  and  horror  and 
caught  at  his  rifle;  but,  almost  before  his  hands 
could  touch  the  gun,  El  Feroz  was  upon  Thure  and 
only  a  tremendous  jump  sideways  of  his  brave  little 
horse  saved  him  from  the  sweep  of  one  of  those 
saber-armed  paws. 

The  grizzly  bear,  for  an  animal  of  his  huge  bulk, 
is  astonishingly  agile  and  speedy,  when  once  his 


io  The  Cave  of  Gold 

fighting  blood  is  aroused ;  and,  if  ever  a  grizzly  was 
fighting  mad,  that  grizzly  was  now  El  Feroz.  The 
instant  he  saw  that  he  had  missed  the  horse  and 
man,  he  whirled  about  and  was  after  them  again; 
and,  so  swift  was  his  turn  and  so  sudden  his  charge, 
that,  once  again,  only  the  superior  horsemanship  of 
Thure  and  the  agility  of  the  horse  saved  them  from 
a  sweeping  blow  of  one  of  the  great  paws  that  came 
so  close  that  Thure  could  feel  the  rush  of  its  wind 
against  his  face. 

"Out  run  him!  Out  run  him!"  yelled  Bud  ex 
citedly.  "Try  to  throw  him  with  your  rope;  and 
I'll  see  if  I  can  get  a  bullet  in  him/'  and  he  sud 
denly  jerked  up  Gray  Cloud,  so  that  he  could  make 
his  aim  more  sure,  threw  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder, 
and  fired. 

The  ball  struck  the  grizzly,  but  did  not  disable 
him.  Indeed,  the  wound  seemed  rather  to  increase 
the  terrible  energy  and  rage  with  which  he  was 
striving  to  reach  Thure  and  his  horse  with  one  of 
those  powerful  paws;  and,  for  a  dreadful  moment, 
it  appeared  to  Bud  as  if  the  huge  beast  might  even 
overtake  the  speedy  horse.  Then  he  saw  that 
Thure  was  slowly  gaining,  that  the  rope,  which  still 
clutched  the  hind  leg  of  the  grizzly,  was  slowly 
tightening;  and,  with  breathless  haste,  he  began 
reloading  his  rifle.  He  had  had  all  the  roping  of 
El  Feroz  he  wanted ;  and  now  his  only  desire  was 
to  get  a  bullet  into  the  huge  body,  where  it  would 


El  Feroz  n 

kill  quickly,  as  speedily  as  possible.  Suddenly,  just 
as  he  was  driving  the  bullet  down  into  the  barrel 
of  his  rifle,  he  heard  a  wild  yell  of  exultation  from 
Thure,  and  looked  up  just  in  time  to  see  the  hind 
part  of  the  grizzly  shoot  upward  into  the  air;  and 
the  next  moment  his  astonished  eyes  saw  the  huge 
body  dangling  from  a  strong  limb  of  an  old  oak 
tree,  that  thrust  itself  out  from  the  sturdy  trunk 
some  fifteen  feet  above  the  ground,  and  held  there 
by  the  grip  of  Thure's  rope  around  one  of  the  hind 
legs. 

It  needed  but  a  glance  for  Bud  to  understand  how 
this  seemingly  marvelous  feat  had  been  accom 
plished.  The  quick  eyes  of  Thure  had  seen  the 
tree,  with  its  sturdy  limb  thrust  out  some  fifteen 
feet  above  the  ground,  almost  directly  in  the  line  of 
his  flight;  and,  swerving  a  little  to  one  side,  so  as 
to  pass  close  to  it,  and  slowing  up  his  horse  a  bit, 
he  had  gathered  up  the  slack  of  the  rope  in  his 
hand,  and,  as  he  passed  the  tree,  he  had  thrown  it 
so  that  the  middle  of  the  rope  had  fallen  over  the 
top  of  the  limb  not  far  from  the  trunk;  and  then, 
of  course,  the  rope  had  jerked  the  bear  up  into  the 
air,  and  Thure  had  whirled  his  horse  about,  and 
now  the  well-trained  animal  stood,  his  fore  legs 
braced,  holding  the  struggling  grizzly  up  to  the 
limb. 

"Shoot,  shoot  him  quick,  before  the  limb  or  the 
rope  breaks !"  yelled  Bud,  the  moment  his  eyes  had 


12  The  Cave  of  Gold 

taken  in  the  situation,  and,  ramming  the  bullet 
swiftly  home,  he  spurred  Gray  Cloud  toward  the 
dangling  bear. 

Thure  at  once  seized  his  rifle ;  but  so  furious  were 
the  struggles  of  the  grizzly — he  hung  just  so  that  his 
fore  paws  touched  the  ground — as  he  twisted  and 
turned  and  frantically  pawed  up  the  dirt,  insane 
with  rage,  that  it  was  impossible  to  get  accurate 
aim  from  where  he  sat  on  his  horse;  and  Thure 
jumped  from  his  saddle  and  ran  quickly  close  up 
to  the  swinging  grizzly,  now  struggling  more 
furiously  than  ever  at  the  near  approach  of  his 
hated  enemy. 

"Don't !  Look  out !  Can't  you  see  how  the  limb 
is  bending  and  shaking?"  yelled  Bud  excitedly. 
"The  limb  or  the  rope  might  break  at  any  moment !" 
and  Bud  shuddered  at  the  horror  of  the  thought  of 
what  then  might  happen  and  urged  his  horse  more 
desperately  than  ever  toward  the  scene. 

And,  indeed,  the  huge  body  of  the  grizzly,  twist 
ing  and  swinging  at  the  end  of  the  rope,  the  blood 
flowing  from  the  wound  made  by  Bud's  bullet,  his 
little  red  eyes  glowing  like  coals  of  fire,  his  strong 
jaws  snapping  and  growling,  and  his  huge  paws 
striking  furiously  in  the  direction  of  Thure,  did 
make  a  sight  to  chill  the  marrow  in  the  bones  of 
any  man. 

Thure,  now  that  he  was  so  close  to  the  bear  that 
he  could  have  touched  him  with  the  muzzle  of  his 
rifle,  realized  that,  in  his  haste,  he  had  done  a  fool- 


El  Feroz  13 

hardy  thing;  but  he  was  not  the  kind  of  a  lad  to 
back  down  from  a  position  once  taken,  not  until  he 
had  to  do  so,  and,  quickly  bringing  his  rifle  to  his 
shoulder,  he  waited  until  the  swaying  body  pre 
sented  a  fatal  spot  to  his  aim,  pulled  the  trigger, 
and  leaped  backward  from  the  bear. 

It  was  fortunate  for  Thure  that  he  made  that 
backward  jump;  for,  at  the  crack  of  his  rifle,  El 
Feroz  made  such  a  tremendous  lunge  toward  him, 
that  the  creaking  limb  bent  nearly  double,  and,  with 
a  sound  like  the  report  of  a  gun,  broke  off  close  to 
the  trunk  and  crashed  to  the  ground  on  top  of  the 
grizzly. 

For  a  moment  El  Feroz  lay  stunned  by  his 
wounds  and  fall  and  the  crash  of  the  heavy  limb; 
and  then,  with  a  roar,  he  struggled  to  his  feet,  just 
as  Bud  jerked  Gray  Cloud  to  a  halt  not  a  rod  away, 
and,  instantly  throwing  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder, 
fired.  Even  then  the  ferocious  beast  plunged  des 
perately  toward  his  new  enemy,  staggering  blindly, 
and  fell  dead  on  the  exact  spot  where  Thure  had 
stood. 

"Jumping  buffaloes,  but  that  was  a  narrow  escape 
for  you,  Thure!"  and,  throwing  himself  out  of  his 
saddle,  Bud  rushed  up  to  where  Thure  stood,  white 
and  trembling,  now  that  the  danger  was  over,  not 
ten  feet  from  where  the  bear  lay  dead. 

"But,  we've  got  him!  Got  El  Feroz  himself!" 
and  the  blood  surged  back  to  Thure's  face.  "The 
biggest  grizzly  in  all  California!  Say,  but  won't 


14  The  Cave  of  Gold 

the  Mexicans  and  the  Indians  think  we  are  great 
hunters  now?  And  won't  Ruth  and  lola  stare, 
when  we  throw  down  the  hide  of  El  Feroz  in  front 
of  them  to-night  ?" 

No  wonder  Thure  felt  a  little  vainglorious  over 
their  achievement;  for  there  was  not  a  hunter  in 
all  that  country  who  would  not  have  considered 
the  killing  of  El  Feroz  the  crowning  exploit  of  his 
life,  so  great  had  become  the  monster  grizzly's  repu 
tation  for  savage  ferocity  and  fearlessness  of  man. 

"Well,  I  reckon  we  won't  do  any  more  hunting 
to-day,"  Bud  declared,  as  he  began  swiftly  reload 
ing  his  rifle.  In  that  country  at  that  time  no  ex 
perienced  hunter  ever  allowed  his  rifle  to  remain 
unloaded  a  moment  longer  than  was  necessary. 
"When  we  get  the  hide  off  that  monster,  it  will  be 
time  to  be  starting  for  home/'  and  his  eyes  turned 
to  the  dead  grizzly.  "Whew,  but  isn't  he  a  whop 
per!  I'll  bet  that  he  will  weigh  nearly  a  ton! 
You  are  right,  the  girls  will  be  surprised  some,  when 
we  throw  down  that  hide  in  front  of  them,"  and 
his  face  flushed  a  little  at  the  thought  of  the  glory 
that  would  soon  be  theirs.  "But,  come,  now  that 
our  guns  are  loaded,  let's  get  busy  with  our  knives 
and  get  this  big  hide  off,"  and,  pulling  out  his 
hunting-knife  from  its  sheath,  he  bent  over  the  huge 
carcass  of  El  Feroz. 

"I'll  be  with  you  as  soon  as  I  free  Buck,"  and 
Thure,  slipping  the  noose  of  his  reata  off  the  hind 
leg  of  the  dead  grizzly  and  coiling  it  around  his 


El  Feroz  15 

arm,  hastened  to  where  his  gallant  little  horse  still 
stood;  and,  after  fastening  the  rope  in  its  place 
on  the  pommel  of  the  saddle,  he  hurried  back  to 
where  Bud  was  bending  over  the  grizzly. 

There  was  no  need  of  tying  their  horses.  All 
the  rope  required  to  hold  them  fast  was  the  rope 
of  love  they  bore  their  young  masters,  and  so  the 
two  animals  were  left  free,  while  the  two  boys 
busied  themselves  getting  the  pelt  off  the  bear. 

The  skinning  of  a  grizzly  bear,  especially  when 
the  bear  is  as  huge  and  as  tough  as  was  El  Feroz, 
is  no  light  undertaking;  but  Thure  and  Bud  were 
no  novices  at  this  kind  of  labor,  and,  after  half  an 
hour's  hard  work,  the  great  pelt  was  off  and 
stretched  out  on  the  ground,  skin  side  up. 

"There,  I  am  glad  that  job  is  done!"  Thure  ex 
claimed,  with  satisfaction,  as  he  wiped  his  bloody 
knife  on  the  grass.  "Say,  but  he  sure  was  a  whop 
per  !"  and  his  eyes  glanced  exultantly  over  the  great 
hide,  now  looking  larger  than  ever  as  it  lay  spread 
out  on  the  grass.  "Great  Moses,  look  at  all  those 
old  bullet  marks! — Fifteen  of  them!  No  wonder 
that  Mexican  Juan  thought  El  Feroz  was  protected 
by  the  devil! — Hello,  what  is  the  matter  now?"  and 
Thure  jumped  up  quickly  from  the  hide,  over  which 
he  had  been  bending  counting  El  Feroz 's  old  bullet 
wounds,  at  a  sudden  exclamation  of  alarm  from 
Bud. 

"There !  There !  Look  there !"  Bud  was  point 
ing  excitedly  up  the  valley. 


1 6  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"Mother  of  men,  they  are  murdering  him!" 
"Come  on !"  and  Thure,  grabbing  up  his  rifle,  made 
a  jump  for  his  horse,  followed  by  Bud. 

Three-quarters  of  a  mile  up  the  valley  from 
where  our  young  friends  had  slain  the  big  grizzly, 
a  spur  of  rocks  projected  down  into  the  valley, 
reaching  like  a  long  finger  almost  to  the  fringe  of 
trees  along  the  creek ;  and  around  this  spur  of  rocks 
three  men  had  slowly  ridden,  and,  just  as  they  had 
come  in  sight  from  where  the  boys  stood,  Bud, 
whose  eyes  had  happened  to  be  turned  in  that  direc 
tion,  had  seen  two  of  the  men  suddenly  and  ap 
parently  without  warning  set  upon  the  third  man 
and,  after  a  short  struggle,  knock  him  off  his  horse. 
•It  was  this  sight  that  had  caused  his  sudden  cry  of 
alarm,  followed  by  Thure' s  exclamation  of  horror, 
"They  are  murdering  him !"  and  the  quick  jump  of 
both  boys  for  their  horses. 

It  took  Thure  and  Bud  less  than  a  minute  to 
reach  their  horses  and  to  spring  up  into  their  sad 
dles;  but,  in  that  brief  time,  the  unequal  struggle 
up  the  valley  was  over,  and  the  two  men  were  bend 
ing  over  the  prostrate  body  of  their  victim,  ap 
parently  searching  for  valuables,  when  the  two  boys, 
with  loud  yells,  spurred  their  horses  at  full  speed 
toward  them. 

At  the  sound  of  their  voices,  the  two  men  looked 
suddenly  up,  saw  them  coming,  hastily  grabbed  up 
a  few  things  from  the  ground,  evidently  taken  from 
the  man  they  were  robbing,  jumped  to  their  feet, 


El  Feroz  17 

sprang  on  the  backs  of  their  horses,  and,  before 
either  boy  was  near  enough  to  shoot,  both  had  dis 
appeared  around  the  spur  of  rocks,  lashing  and 
spurring  their  horses  frantically. 

Thure  and  Bud  jerked  up  their  horses  by  the  side 
of  the  fallen  man  and,  jumping  from  their  saddles, 
bent  quickly  over  him. 

"They've  murdered  him !"  cried  Bud,  the  moment 
his  horrified  eyes  saw  the  white  face  and  the  blood 
stained  breast  of  the  stricken  man.  "They  have 
stabbed  him!  The  cowardly  curs!" 

"No,  he  is  not  dead!  I  can  feel  his  heart  beat. 
The  stab  was  too  low  to  reach  his  heart.  Quick,  we 
must  do  something  to  stop  this  flow  of  blood,  or  he 
soon  will  be  dead,"  and  Thure  tore  open  the  bosom 
of  the  rough  flannel  shirt,  exposing  the  red  mouth 
of  a  knife  wound  from  which  the  blood  was  flowing 
freely. 

Thure  and  Bud  were  both  familiar  with  the  rough 
surgery  of  the  plains  and  the  mountains ;  and  soon 
their  deft  hands  had  swiftly  untied  the  silk  scarfs 
from  around  their  necks,  plugged  the  wound  with 
one  of  them  and  used  the  other  to  tightly  bind  and 
hold  it  in  place. 

"There,  I  think  that  will  stop  the  blood!  Now, 
let's  see  what  other  hurts  he  has,"  and  Thure 
passed  his  hands  gently  over  the  man's  head. 
"Two  bumps — whoppers !  Either  enough  to  knock 
the  senses  out  of  an  ox ;  but,  I  reckon,  they've  done 
no  mortal  damage.  It's  the  stab  wound  that  I  am 


1 8  The  Cave  of  Gold 

most  afraid  of.  What  do  you  make  out  of  it  all 
anyway?"  and  Thure  turned  to  Bud. 

"Plain  robbery  and  attempted  murder/'  Bud  an 
swered  gravely.  "The  man  is  evidently  a  miner/' 
and  his  eyes  rested  on  the  long  unkempt  hair  and 
beard,  the  weather-bronzed  skin,  and  the  rough 
worn  clothing  of  the  wounded  man ;  "and  was,  prob 
ably,  on  his  way  from  the  mines  to  San  Francisco 
with  his  gold-dust,  when  those  two  cowardly  curs 
met  him  and,  finding  out  that  he  was  from  the 
mines,  attempted  to  murder  him  for  his  gold/' 

"Reckon  you're  right,"  agreed  Thure.  "Least 
wise  there's  no  use  of  speculating  over  it  longer 
now.  The  thing  to  do  is  to  get  him  home  as  soon 
as  we  can.  Mother  is  powerful  good  doctoring 
hurts.  Just  see  if  you  can  get  him  up  on  the  sad 
dle  in  front  of  me.  I  reckon  that'll  be  the  safest 
way  to  carry  him,"  and  Thure  mounted  his  horse, 
while  Bud  thrust  his  sturdy  young  arms  under  the 
body  of  the  insensible  man  and,  as  gently  as  pos 
sible,  lifted  him  to  the  saddle,  where  the  strong  arms 
of  Thure  held  him  as  comfortably  as  possible. 

"Now,  I'll  strike  out  straight  for  home,"  Thure 
said,  as  he  started  Buck  off  on  a  walk  with  his 
double  burden ;  "and  you  can  ride  back  and  get  the 
hide  of  El  Feroz,  and  soon  catch  up  with  me." 

"All  right.  I'll  be  with  you  again  as  soon  as  I 
can,"  and  Bud  sprang  on  the  back  of  Gray  Cloud 
and  started  off  on  a  gallop  for  the  scene  of  the  con 
test  with  the  grizzly. 


El  Feroz  19 

How  wonderful  it  is  that  the  tenor  of  our  whole 
after  lives  may  be,  nay,  frequently  is,  completely 
changed  by  some  seemingly  unimportant  circum 
stance  or  unexpected  happening.  If  Thure  Con- 
royal  and  Bud  Randolph  had  not  heard  the  death- 
cry  of  that  horse  and  had  not  turned  aside  to  see 
what  had  caused  those  agonizing  sounds,  they 
would  not  have  been  delayed,  by  their  contest  with 
the  grizzly,  until  the  coming  of  the  three  men,  nor 
have  witnessed  the  attack  on  the  miner ;  and,  if  they 
had  not  seen  this  attack  on  the  miner  and  hurried 
to  his  rescue,  they  never  would  have  heard  the 
miner's  marvelous  tale,  nor  have  secured  the  skin 
map;  and,  if  they  had  not  heard  the  miner's  tale  and 
secured  the  skin  map —  But,  I  must  let  the  story 
itself  tell  you  all  that  resulted  from  these  unex 
pected  and  seemingly  unimportant  happenings. 


CHAPTER  II 

DEATH    OF   THE   MINER 

CALIFORNIA  and  1849!  Magical  combina- 
JM?  tion  of  Place  and  Date!  The  Land  of  Gold 
and  the  Time  of  Gold !  The  Date  and  the  Place  of 
the  opening  of  Nature's  richest  treasure-house! 
Gold — free  for  all  who  would  stoop  and  pick  or  dig 
it  out  of  the  rocks  and  the  dirt!  The  beginning 
of  the  most  wonderful  exodus  of  gold-mad  men 
in  the  history  of  the  world!  "Gold!  Gold!! 
GOLD!!!  CALIFORNIA  GOLD!"  The  nations 
of  the  world  heard  the  cry;  and  the  most  en 
terprising  and  daring  and  venturesome — the  wicked 
as  well  as  the  good — of  the  nations  of  the  world 
started  straightway  for  California.  Towns  and 
cities  sprang  up,  like  mushrooms,  in  a  night,  where 
the  'day  before  the  grizzly  bear  had  hunted.  In  a 
year  a  wilderness  became  a  populous  state.  A 
marvelous  work  to  accomplish,  even  for  an  Anglo- 
Saxon- American  nation;  but,  get  down  your  his 
tories  of  California,  boys,  and  you  will  learn  that 
we  did  accomplish  that  very  thing — built  a  great 
state  out  of  a  wilderness  in  some  twelve  months  of 
time! 

Of  course,  Thure  and  Bud  (Bud  with  the  griz- 

20 


Death  of  the  Miner  21 

zly's  hide  had  soon  overtaken  Thure),  as  they  rode 
along  over  the  soft  grass  of  the  Sacramento  Valley, 
on  this  clear  July  afternoon  of  the  eventful  year 
of  1849,  did  not  realize  that  all  these  wonderful 
things  were  happening  or  were  about  to  happen  in 
their  loved  California.  They  knew  that  a  great 
gold  discovery  had  been  made  in  the  region  of  the 
American  River  some  forty  miles  northeast  of 
Sutter's  Fort.  Indeed,  for  the  last  year,  all  Cali 
fornia  had  gone  gold-mad  over  this  same  discovery; 
and  now  every  able-bodied  man  in  the  country,  who 
could  possibly  get  there,  was  at  the  mines.  Stores, 
ranches,  ships,  pulpits,  all  businesses  and  all  pro 
fessions  had  been  deserted  for  the  alluring  smiles 
of  the  yellow  god,  gold,  until  it  might  be  truthfully 
said,  that  in  all  California  there  was  but  one  busi 
ness  and  that  one  business  was  gold-digging. 

The  devastating  gold-fever  had  swept  over  the 
Conroyal  and  the  Randolph  ranches;  and  had  left, 
of  all  the  grown-up  males,  only  Thure  and  Bud, 
who,  not  yet  being  of  age,  had  been  compelled  to 
stay,  much  against  their  wills,  to  care  for  the 
women  folks  and  the  ranches,  while  their  fathers 
and  brothers  and  all  the  able-bodied  help  had 
rushed  off,  like  madmen,  to  the  mines;  and  only 
their  loyalty  to  their  loved  mothers  and  fathers  had 
kept  them  from  following.  Now,  the  one  great 
hope  of  their  lives  was  to  win  permission  to  go  to 
the  mines,  where  men  were  winning  fortunes  in  a 
day,  and  try  their  luck  at  gold-digging. 


22  The  Cave  of  Gold 

The  Conroyal  rancho,  the  Randolph  and  the  Con- 
royal  families  had  united,  when  the  men  went  to 
the  mines,  and  both  families  were  now  living  at  the 
Conroyal  rancho,  was  some  five  miles  from  the 
scene  of  the  robbery  and  attempted  murder  of  the 
miner;  and,  for  the  first  two  miles  of  the  home 
ward  ride,  the  wounded  man  lay  unconscious  and 
motionless  in  Thure's  arms.  Then  he  began  to 
move  restlessly  and  to  mutter  unintelligible  things. 

"He  sure  isn't  dead,"  Thure  declared,  as  the 
struggles  of  the  man  nearly  pitched  both  of  them 
out  of  the  saddle.  "Just  ^ve  me  a  hand,  Bud ;  for, 
I  reckon,  we'll  have  to  lower  him  to  the  ground 
until  he  gets  his  right  senses  back  or  quits  this 
twitching  and  jerking.  I  am  afraid  he  will  start 
the  wound  to  bleeding  again." 

Bud  quickly  sprang  off  the  back  of  his  horse; 
and  together  and  as  gently  as  possible  the  two  boys 
lowered  the  wounded  miner  from  the  saddle  and 
laid  him  down  on  a  little  mound  of  grass.  A  few 
-rods  away  a  small  stream  of  water  wound  its  way, 
"half-hidden  by  tall  grass  and  bushes  and  low  trees, 
through  the  little  valley  where  they  had  stopped. 

"Get  your  hat  full  of  water,"  Thure  said,  as  he 
bent  down  to  see  if  the  bandage  over  the  wound  was 
still  in  its  place.  "Seems  to  me  he  ought  to  be  get 
ting  his  senses  back  by  this  time." 

Bud  at  once  started  off  on  the  run  for  the  water 
and  soon  was  back  with  his  broad-brimmed  felt  hat 
full  of  the  cooling  fluid;  and,  kneeling  down  by  the 


Death  of  the  Miner  23: 

side  of  the  wounded  man,  who  now  lay  quiet,  with 
eyes  closed,  although  he  was  still  muttering  in 
coherently,  he  bathed  the  hot  forehead  and  the: 
swollen  lumps  on  the  back  of  his  head. 

Suddenly  the  miner's  eyes  opened  and  stared 
wonderingly  around  him  and  up  into  the  faces  of  the 
two  boys.  For  a  minute  he  did  not  seem  to  be  able 
to  comprehend  what  had  happened.  Then  the 
blank  wondering  look  suddenly  left  his  eyes. 

"Did  they  get  the  gold?"  and  his  hand  went 
quickly  to  his  waist.  There  was  no  belt  there. 
"Gone!  A  good  twenty  pounds  of  as  fine  gold  as 
was  ever  dug  from  the  earth,  gone ! — Gods,  if  the)r 
had  but  given  me  any  kind  of  a  show,  they  would 
not  have  got  it  so  easily !"  and  his  eyes  flamed  and 
he  attempted  to  sit  up,  but  fell  back  with  a  groan: 
and  a  whitening  face. 

For  a  minute  or  two  he  lay  with  eyes  closed,, 
breathing  heavily.  Evidently  he  was  trying  to  col 
lect  his  thoughts,  to  realize  his  situation.  When  he 
opened  his  eyes  again  there  was  a  solemn,  an  awed 
look  in  them  that  had  not  been  there  before,  and  the 
anger  had  gone. 

"I  have  been  stabbed,"  he  said  slowly,  "and  I  am 
dying." 

"No,  no.  The  knife  did  not  go  near  your  heart. 
It  struck  too  low.  You  will  soon  be  all  right  again. 
Wait  until  we  get  you  home  and  mother  will  soon 
make  a  whole  man  of  you.  Mother  is  about  the  best 
nurse  in  all  California,"  and  Thure  gripped  one  of: 


24  The  Cave  of  Gold 

the  hard  toil-worn  hands  and  smiled  encourag 
ingly. 

"No."  As  the  man  spoke  his  eyes  never  once 
left  Thure's  face.  "No,  I  am  dying.  I  know.  I 
was  once  a  surgeon,  an  army  surgeon."  For  a 
moment  his  eyes  darkened,  as  if  with  bitter  recol 
lections.  "But,  what  matters  the  past  now  ?  Let  it 
bury  its  dead,"  and  he  smiled  grimly.  "This  is 
death.  I  know.  I  have  seen  many  die  just  this  way. 
Internal  hemorrhage,  we  doctors  called  it.  The 
blood  from  the  wound  is  flowing  into  my  body.  I 
can  feel  it.  I  have  half  an  hour,  possibly  an  hour 
to  live;  and  then — "  The  awed  look  in  the  eyes 
deepened,  and,  for  a  couple  of  minutes,  he  did  not 
speak,  but  lay  staring  straight  up  into  the  blue 
skies.  Suddenly  his  white  lips  tightened  and  he 
turned  to  Thure. 

"How  far  is  it  to  your  home  and  to  your  mother  ?" 
he  asked  abruptly. 

"About  three  miles ;  but  I  can  carry  you  so  easily 
that  I  am  sure — " 

"Too  far,"  the  wounded  man  broke  in  impatiently. 
"I  might  die  before  I  got  there.  No,  this  shall  be 
my  deathbed — the  soft  green  grass,  canopied  by  the 
blue  skies — a  fitting  end,  a  fitting  end,"  he  added 
gloomily. 

"Come,  come,"  and  Thure  tried  to  make  his  voice 
sound  cheery  and  full  of  hope.  "Never  say  die, 
until  you  are  dead.  Just  wait  until  we  get  home 
and  mother  will  put  new  life  into  you.  Now,  I'll 


Death  of  the  Miner  25 

get  on  my  horse,  and  Bud  will  lift  you  up  into  my 
arms,  and  we'll  be  home  before  you  know  it,"  and 
Thure  jumped  to  his  feet  and  started  toward  his 
horse. 

"No,  come  back,"  and  the  miner  impatiently  lifted 
himself  up  on  one  elbow.  "Come  back.  I  have  no 
time  to  waste  riding  three  miles  for  a  deathbed. 
I — "  Again  the  keen  eyes  searched  the  faces  of  the 
two  boys.  "I  have  much  to  say  and  little  time  in 
which  to  say  it.  Get  that  bearskin  off  your  horse 
and  make  me  as  comfortable  as  possible  on  it.  And 
be  quick  about  it ;  for  I  am  going  fast,  and,  before 
I  go,  I  want  to  make  you  two  boys  my  heirs  for 
saving  me  from  those  two  villains.  The  cowardly 
curs!  They  hit  me  from  behind!"  and  again  the 
eyes  flamed  with  anger.  "They  got  the  gold  I  had 
with  me  and  they  got  me ;  but  they  did  not  get  the 
secret  of  Crooked  Arm  Gulch,  nor  learn  how  to 
find  its  Golden  Elbow.  Curse  them!  If  I  could 
but  live,  I'd —  But,  what's  the  use?"  and  he  sank 
back  white-lipped  on  the  grass.  "That  knife  stab 
in  the  breast  has  done  for  me.  And  just  when  the 
golden  key  that  unlocks  all  the  doors  of  pleasure 
and  power  was  tight-gripped  in  my  very  fingers! 
Just  my  luck !  But,"  and  the  look  of  somber  resig 
nation  came  back  into  the  pain-racked  eyes,  "I'll 
not  die  like  a  snarling,  whining  coyote.  I'll  meet 
death,  as  I  have  met  life — face  to  face,  with  both 
eyes  wide  open.  Now,"  and  he  turned  to  Bud,  who 
had  hurried  to  his  horse  and,  unloosening  the  bear- 


26  The  Cave  of  Gold 

skin,  had  hastened  back  with  it  and  spread  it  out 
on  the  grass,  soft  hair  up,  by  the  side  of  the 
wounded  man,  "lay  me  on  the  skin  and  stuff  some 
thing  under  my  head  and  shoulders,  so  as  to  keep 
the  blood  from  flooding  my  lungs  and  heart  as  long 
as  possible;  for  I  have  that  to  tell  that  must  not 
wait,  even  for  death,"  and  the  white  lips  tightened 
firmly. 

Thure  and  Bud,  anxious  to  do  everything  possible 
to  ease  the  last  moments  of  the  dying  man,  now 
carefully  lifted  him  and  laid  him  down  on  the  skin 
of  the  grizzly  bear  as  gently  as  possible.  Then, 
taking  off  one  of  the  saddles  and  their  own  coats, 
they  placed  the  saddle,  softened  by  the  folded  coats 
and  the  bearskin,  under  the  head  and  the  shoulders 
of  the  miner;  and  only  the  white  tight-drawn  lips 
and  the  burning  eyes  told  of  the  intense  pain  that 
he  must  have  suffered  while  the  change  was  being 
made. 

For  a  couple  of  minutes  the  wounded  man  lay 
silent  on  the  bearskin,  with  closed  eyes,  breathing 
foeavily.  Then  he  suddenly  opened  his  eyes  and 
turned  them  resolutely  on  the  two  boys,  who  stood, 
one  on  each  side,  bending  anxiously  over  him. 

"There,  that  is  better,"  he  said.  "That  is  all  you 
can  do  for  me.  Now,  sit  down  close  to  my  head, 
so  that  you  can  hear  every  word  that  I  say;  for 
never  did  dying  lips  have  a  more  important  message 
to  utter,  never  did  mortal  leave  a  richer  inheritance 
to  mortal  than  I  am  about  to  leave  to  you.  Gold — 


Death  of  the  Miner  27 

a  cave  paved  with  gold !  Gold — a  cave  walled  with 
seams  of  gold!  Gold — bushels,  barrels  of  gold 
nuggets,  to  be  picked  up,  as  you  pick  up  pebbles, 
from  the  stony  bed  of  a  river !  Gods,  if  I  could  but 
live !"  Again  the  blood  flushed  back  into  the  white 
cheeks  and  the  eyes  glowed  with  feverish  excite 
ment. 

"There !  There !"  and  Thure  laid  a  cool  hand  on 
the  hot  forehead.  "Never  mind  the  gold  now. 
When  you  have  rested  a  bit  and  have  recovered 
some  of  your  strength,  Bud  and  I  will  rig  up  a 
stretcher  out  of  the  bearskin  and  carry  you  home 
between  us;  and  then,  when  you  are  comfortably 
fixed  in  a  soft  bed,  you  can  tell  us  all  about  this  won 
derful  cave  of  gold." 

No  wonder  Thure  thought  all  this  wild  talk  about 
the  marvelous  cave  of  gold  but  the  delirium  of  a 
dying  man  and  tried  to  quiet  the  sufferer;  but  the 
miner  would  not  be  quieted,  and,  roughly  brushing 
the  hand  from  his  forehead,  he  turned  his  glowing 
eyes  full  on  Thure's  face. 

"You  think  I  am  raving/'  he  said,  "that  this  cave 
of  gold  exists  only  in  the  disordered  fancy  of  a 
dying  man.  Well,  I  will  show  you.  Thrust  your 
hand  under  my  shirt,  beneath  my  right  shoulder, 
and  pull  out  the  small  bag  you  will  find  there. 
Quick!"  he  cried  impatiently,  as  Thure  hesitated. 
"You  forget  that  I  am  a  dying  man  and  have  not  a 
minute  of  time  to  waste." 

Thus  admonished,  Thure  hastily  thrust  his  right 


28  The  Cave  of  Gold 

hand  under  the  miner's  shirt,  as  directed,  and  pulled 
out  a  small  buckskin  bag,  fastened  by  a  buckskin 
thong  about  the  miner's  shoulder.  The  weight  of 
the  bag,  for  it  was  only  some  seven  inches  long  by 
three  inches  wide,  surprised  him. 

"Cut  the  strings  and  open  the  bag,"  commanded 
the  miner. 

Thure  quickly  did  as  bidden. 

"Now,  see  what  is  inside  of  the  bag." 

Thure  thrust  his  hand  into  the  bag  and  drew  out 
a  long,  tightly  rolled  piece  of  white  parchment-like 
skin. 

"That  is  the  skin  map.  Never  mind  that  now. 
Turn  the  bag  bottom  side  up  and  shake  it." 

Thure  caught  hold  of  the  bottom  of  the  bag  with 
his  fingers,  turned  it  over  and  gave  it  a  vigorous 
shake;  and  then  sat  staring  wildly  at  the  object  that 
had  fallen,  with  a  thud,  on  the  bearskin  by  his  side. 
He  was  looking  at  a  solid  nugget  of  gold  nearly  as 
large  as,  and  shaped  very  much  like  his  fist ! 

"Pick  it  up !  Lift  it !"  urged  the  miner,  his  eyes 
shining  with  excitement.  "It  is  gold,  pure,  virgin 
gold,  just  as  God  made  it!  I  picked  it  up  off  the 
bottom  of  the  cave,  where  there  are  thousands  of 
other  smaller  nuggets.  In  the  light  of  my  torch 
they  sparkled  and  shone  until  the  floor  of  the  cave 
seemed  flooded  with  golden  light.  In  the  two  hours 
I  was  there  I  gathered  up  the  Five  Thousand  Dol 
lars'  worth  of  gold  nuggets  the  robbers  stole  from 


Death  of  the  Miner  29 

me  and  that  nugget,  all  that  I  dared  take  with  me; 
for  the  way  out  of  Crooked  Arm  Gulch  is  not  a  road 
over  which  a  man  more  heavily  burdened  would 
care  to  venture.  I  had  no  food  with  me,  no  horses ; 
and  I  must  hurry  back,  where  food,  on  which  to 
live,  and  horses,  on  which  to  carry  my  supplies  to 
the  cave  and  the  gold  away  from  it,  could  be 
bought.  I— " 

"And  you  found  this  hunk  of  gold  on  the  floor 
of  that  cave?"  Thure  who  had  been  lifting  and 
examining  the  nugget  with  widening  eyes,  could 
control  his  excitement  no  longer.  "And  you  say 
that  there  are  thousands  of  other  nuggets  where 
this  came  from  ?" 

"Yes,  yes !  I  have  been  telling  you  God's  truth," 
and  the  face  grew  white  and  drawn  with  pain  again. 
"But,  don't  interrupt  me.  I — I  have  only  a  few 
minutes  left.  The  nugget,  the  gold,  all  is  yours. 
I — I  bequeath  it  to  you  with  my  dying  breath. 
The  map — the  skin  map — will  tell  you  where  to 
find  it — North — northeast  from  Hangtown — a  good 
five  days'  tramp — No  miners  there  yet — Deep — 
steep  canyon — Lot's  Canyon — Tall  white  pillar  of 
rock  standing  near  Crooked  Arm  Gulch — Must  look 
— sharp — to  find  gulch  opening — Blocked  by  great 
— rocks — Big  tree — Climb  to  third  limb.  Remem 
ber — climb  to  third  limb — third  limb — third — My 
God ! — My  God !"  and  both  hands  clutched  madly  at 
his  throat. 


30  The  Cave  of  Gold 

His  breath  was  now  coming  in  quick  heaving 
gasps ;  and  only  by  a  supreme  effort  of  will  was  he 
able  longer  to  command  his  wavering  reason. 

"Quick — quick/'  he  gasped,  his  voice  coming  in  a 
hoarse  whisper.  "Bend  your  heads  close.  Beware 
of  the  two  men  who  robbed  and  murdered  me — I — I 
told — them  of  the  cave  of  gold ;  but  I  did — did  not 
tell  them  where  it  is;  and — and  they — can — cannot 
find  it  without  the  skin  map — They — they  murdered 
me  for — for  that  map;  but  they  did  not  get  it — It 
— it  was  not  in — in  my  money-belt,  as  they  thought. 
Guard  that  map — They — they  would  kill — kill  you 
to  get  it.  One  is  a  huge  red-haired  man  with  a 
broken  nose — The  other  is — is  small,  with  pock 
marked  face — Beware — beware  pock — pock-marked 
face  and — and  broken  nose — I — God — I — " 

Again  he  clutched  violently  at  his  throat;  and 
then  a  great  wondering  look  of  awe  came  into  his 
eyes,  now  staring  straight  up  into  the  blue  skies, 
and  his  form  stiffened  suddenly. 

Thure  and  Bud  could  endure  the  dreadful  sight 
no  longer  and  turned  their  horrified  eyes  away ;  and, 
when,  a  couple  of  minutes  later,  they  again  looked 
on  the  face  of  the  miner,  he  was  dead,  with  a  smile 
on  his  grim  lips  and  a  look  of  peace  on  his  face,  as 
if  the  coming  of  Death,  at  the  very  last,  had  been  a 
most  pleasant  and  joyous  event. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   SKIN    MAP 

NO  mortal  can  look  on  death  unmoved.  Savage 
or  civilized,  Christian  or  pagan,  a  great  awe,  a 
questioning  wonder  thrills  the  spirits  of  all  who 
stand  in  the  presence  of  the  dread,  unsolvable 
mystery,  death.  The  soul  asks  questions  that  can 
not  be  answered,  that  the  ages  have  left  un 
answered.  And,  as  Thure  and  Bud  now  stood,  with 
uncovered  heads,  looking  down  on  the  quiet,  peace 
ful  face  and  the  motionless,  rigid  form  of  the  dead 
miner,  the  world-old  awe  and  wondering  concerning 
death  thrilled  their  hearts.  For  a  couple  of  minutes 
neither  spoke,  neither  moved.  Then  Thure's  eyes 
sought  the  face  of  Bud. 

"He  is  dead,"  he  said  solemnly. 

"He  is  dead/'  answered  Bud,  not  moving  his 
awed  eyes  from  the  still  face. 

"Dead!"  and  Thure  bent  and  reverently  straight 
ened  out  the  bent  legs  and  arms  and  smoothed  back 
the  matted  hair  from  the  forehead.  "Dead,  yes,  as 
dead  as  a  stone ;  and  yet  a  few  minutes  ago  he  was 
breathing  and  talking!  What  a  queer  thing  life  is 
anyhow !  Well,  it  won't  do  neither  him  nor  us  any 
good  to  stand  here  thinking  and  talking  about  it. 

31 


32  The  Cave  of  Gold 

Now  we  must  get  the  body  to  the  house  and  give  it 
as  decent  a  burial  as  possible.  I'll  carry  the  body 
across  the  saddle  in  front  of  me.  Come,  let's  hurry. 
I  am  getting  anxious  to  have  it  over/' 

For  the  moment,  so  great  had  been  the  shock  of 
the  miner's  sudden  death,  Thure  and  Bud  had  for 
gotten  all  about  the  dead  man's  marvelous  tale  of 
the  Cave  of  Gold ;  but  now,  as  Bud  stooped  to  help 
lift  the  body  from  the  bearskin,  his  eyes  caught  the 
yellow  glow  of  the  gold  nugget,  which  lay  on  the 
skin  by  the  side  of  its  unfortunate  finder,  and  the 
sight  recalled  the  wondrous  tale. 

"What  do  you  think  of  his  story  about  finding 
that  nugget  in  a  cave  where  the  floor  is  covered  with 
gold  nuggets  as  thickly  as  pebbles  on  the  bed  of  a 
stony  river?  Do  you  suppose  it  is  true  or,  just 
one  of  the  queer  notions  that  sometimes  come  to  the 
dying?"  and  Bud  looked  wonderingly  from  the  nug 
get  to  Thure's  face. 

"Great  Moses,  I  forgot  all  about  the  gold !"  and 
Thure's  face  flushed  with  excitement.  "Quick,  let's 
get  the  body  on  the  grass  and  then  we'll  have  an 
other  look  at  the  nugget.  That  was  a  powerful 
queer  story  he  told ;  but  it  might  be  true.  And  if 
it  is  true,"  and  his  eyes  sparkled,  "then  we've  just 
got  to  go  to  the  mines  and  hunt  up  our  dads  and  the 
others  and  get  them  to  help  us  find  that  cave." 

In  a  moment  more  they  had  lifted  the  body  off 
the  bearskin  and  had  laid  it  down  on  the  grass ;  and 
the  gold  nugget  was  in  their  hands. 


The  Skin  Map  33 

"Glory!  But  isn't  it  heavy ?"  and  Bud  balanced 
the  nugget  in  one  hand.  "And  it  looks  and  feels 
and  weighs  like  gold !  It  must  be  gold." 

"It  sure  does  look  like  gold/'  agreed  Thure.  "It 
looks  and  feels  just  like  the  nuggets  dad  sent  home, 
only  larger.  Oh,  if  we  only  could  find  the  cave 
where  it  came  from!  Let  me  see,  he  said  that  it 
was  in  the  Golden  Elbow  of  Crooked  Arm  Gulch, 
in  Lot's  Canyon,  near  a  white  pillar  of  rock  and  a 
big  tree  that  we  must  climb  to  the  third  limb — a 
mighty  queer  place  I  call  that  to  find  a  cave!  I 
reckon  he  must  have  been  lunaticy,"  and  Thure 
turned  a  disappointed  face  to  Bud. 

"Well,  he  certainly  found  gold,  and  this  proves 
it,"  and  Bud  tossed  the  big  nugget  up  in  the  air 
and  caught  it  as  it  came  down,  "to  say  nothing  of  the 
five  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  gold  nuggets  that 
he  claims  his  murderers  stole  from  him.  But,  didn't 
he  say  something  about  a  map,  a  skin  map,  that 
would  tell  us  how  to  find  the  cave?"  and  his  face 
lighted. 

"Yes,  yes,  that  was  the  little  roll  of  white  skin  I 
pulled  first  out  of  the  bag,"  and  Thure's  eyes 
searched  eagerly  the  ground.  "Here  it  is!"  and, 
stooping  quickly,  he  picked  up  the  little  roll  of  white 
parchment-like  skin  that  he  had  pulled  out  of  the 
little  bag  and  dropped  on  the  ground,  and  began 
unrolling  it  with  fingers  that  trembled  with  excite 
ment,  while  Bud  crowded  close  to  his  side,  his  eyes 
on  the  unrolling  piece  of  tanned  skin. 


34  The  Cave  of  Gold 

The  skin  was  some  ten  inches  long  by  seven 
inches  wide,  of  a  somewhat  stiff  texture,  and  tanned 
so  that  it  was  nearly  white.  On  the  inner  side  an 
unskilled  hand  had  rudely  drawn  a  map;  and  be 
neath  the  map  was  written  the  words : 

Map,  showing  the  location  of  the  Cave  of  Gold 
in  the  Golden  Elbow  of  Crooked  Arm  Gulch, 
which  opens  into  Lot's  Canyon  near  the  white 
pillar  of  rock  and  the  big  tree,  made  by  John 
Stackpole,  the  discoverer  of  the  Cave  of  Gold. — 
1849. 

In  the  lower  left-hand  corner  of  the  map  was  a 
rudely  drawn  tree,  with  three  huge  limbs,  and,  from 
near  the  end  of  the  upper  and  third  limb,  an  arrow 
pointed  slantingly  downward,  away  from  the  trunk 
of  the  tree.  In  the  lower  right-hand  corner  was  a 
hand  holding  a  flaming  torch.  Between  the  tree 
and  the  torch  was  a  cross,  marked  with  the  four 
main  points  of  the  compass.  In  the  lower  left-hand 
corner  of  the  map  itself  was  a  small  circle,  marked 
"Hangtown" ;  and  from  there  a  crooked  line  trailed 
in  a  northeasterly  direction  to  the  upper  right-hand 
quarter  of  the  skin,  where  a  map  of  Lot's  Canyon 
and  Crooked  Arm  Gulch  was  drawn  with  consid 
erable  detail. 

For  a  couple  of  minutes  the  two  boys  studied  this 
map  in  silence,  while  the  conviction  that  the  Cave 
of  Gold  was  no  deathbed  hallucination,  but  a  won 
derful  reality,  grew  upon  them;  or  else,  how  came 


THE  SKIN  MAP. 


The  Skin  Map  35 

the  skin  map,  which  evidently  had  been  made  many 
days  ago? 

"Hangtown !"  and  Thure  pointed  excitedly  to  the 
name  on  the  map.  'That's  the  name  of  the  mining 
camp  where  dad  was  when  he  wrote  last.  And 
here,"  and  his  finger  followed  up  the  trail  marked  on 
the  map,  "is  Lot's  Canyon !  and  the  Big  Tree !  and 
Crooked  Arm  Gulch !  and  the  Golden  Elbow !  and — 
and  this  black  spot,  marked  'cave/  right  at  the  point 
of  the  Golden  Elbow,  must  be  the  Cave  of  Gold! 
Great  Moses,  but  I  believe  the  miner  did  actually 
find  that  Cave  of  Gold,  just  as  he  said  he  did !"  and 
Thure's  eyes  and  face  glowed  with  excitement. 

"So  do  I,"  Bud  agreed  emphatically.  "The  skin 
map,  the  gold  nugget — why,  even  his  murder!  all 
go  to  prove  the  truth  of  his  tale.  The  robbers  killed 
him  to  get  this  map.  They  could  have  got  the  gold 
without  killing  and  got  away  all  right;  but  they 
knew  of  the  Cave  of  Gold  and  the  map — the  miner 
said  he  told  them — and,  expecting  to  get  the  map 
along  with  the  gold,  they  killed  him  to  get  him  out 
of  the  way,  so  that  they  could  have  all  the  gold  in 
the  cave  to  themselves.  Say,  but  let's  hurry  home 
and  tell  our  mothers.  They  can't  refuse  to  let  us 
go  to  the  mines  now!  And  we  must  start  just  as 
soon  as  possible.  Come,"  and,  for  the  moment,  in 
his  excitement,  forgetting  the  dead  body  of  the 
miner,  he  started  to  mount  his  horse. 

"But,  we  can't  leave  him  there!"  and  Thure 
pointed  to  the  body.  "Just  help  me  to  get  him  up 


36  The  Cave  of  Gold 

on  the  horse  in  front  of  me  and  then  we'll  get  home 
as  soon  as  possible/'  and,  picking  up  the  little  buck 
skin  bag,  he  slipped  the  nugget  and  the  map  back 
into  it,  thrust  it  into  his  pocket,  and  soon,  with  the 
help  of  Bud,  was  on  his  horse,  with  the  body  of  the 
dead  miner  in  front  of  him. 

Bud  now  quickly  threw  the  grizzly  bearskin  back 
on  his  horse,  jumped  into  his  saddle,  and  the  home 
ward  journey  was  resumed. 


CHAPTER  IV 

AT   THE   CONROYAL  RANCHO 

WHEN  Thure,  bearing  in  his  arms  the  dead 
body  of  a  man,  and  Bud,  with  the  huge  skin 
of  a  grizzly  bear  hanging  across  the  back  of  his 
horse  behind  the  saddle,  rode  into  the  open  court  in 
front  of  the  Conroyal  rancho,  there  was  great  ex 
citement  ;  and,  even  before  they  could  dismount, 
they  were  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  gesticulating, 
question-shouting  women  and  children  and  old  de 
crepit  men,  all  wild  with  curiosity  to  know  what  had 
happened.  In  the  midst  of  all  this  excitement,  the 
door  of  the  house  was  flung  open  and  two  young 
ladies  catapulted  themselves  through  the  crowd  to 
where  Thure  and  Bud  sat  on  their  horses. 

"Mercy!  What  has  happened?"  and  lola  Con- 
royal,  her  horrified  eyes  fixed  on  the  face  of  the  dead 
miner,  came  to  a  sudden  halt  by  the  side  of  Thure, 
with  Ruth  Randolph,  round-eyed  and  white-faced, 
clinging  to  one  of  her  arms.  "Is — is  he  dead?" 

"Yes,  he  is  dead,"  Thure  answered  gravely. 
"Murdered  for  his  gold."  Then,  seeing  how  white 
the  faces  of  the  two  girls  had  suddenly  grown,  he 
added  quickly:  "You  girls  hurry  right  back  into 
the  house  and  tell  your  mothers  that  we  found  a 

37 


38  The  Cave  of  Gold 

miner,  who  had  been  robbed  and  stabbed,  and 
started  to  bring  him  home  with  us,  but  that  he  died 
before  we  got  here;  and  ask  them  to  have  some 
blankets  laid  on  the  floor  of  the  sala  for  the  body  to 
lie  on  and  a  sheet  to  cover  it.  Now,  hurry.  We'll 
tell  you  how  it  all  happened  later,"  and  not  until  the 
two  girls  were  back  in  the  house  did  Thure  make  a 
move  to  get  rid  of  his  ghastly  burden.  Then,  rev 
erently  the  body  of  the  dead  miner  was  lowered 
from  the  horse,  and  borne  into  the  large  hall-like 
room  of  the  house  known  as  the  sala,  and  laid  down 
on  the  blankets  there  prepared  for  it,  and  covered 
over  with  a  sheet. 

In  the  meantime  Bud  had  thrown  the  great  hide 
of  the  grizzly  to  the  ground  with  the  information 
that  it  was  the  skin  of  El  Feroz  himself. 

"How  did  you  kill  him  ?"  "Who  shot  him  ?"  and, 
with  shouts  of  wonder  and  delight,  all  the  men  and 
the  boys,  who  had  not  gone  into  the  sala  with  the 
body  of  the  dead  miner,  crowded  around  the  skin 
of  the  fallen  monarch. 

"Thure  and  I  found  the  old  villain  just  after  he 
had  killed  a  horse,  and  shot  him,"  Bud  answered 
hastily,  anxious  to  get  to  his  mother  with  the  won 
derful  news  of  the  Cave  of  Gold  as  quickly  as  pos 
sible.  "Here,  Angelo!"  and  he  turned  to  a  young 
Mexican  boy  standing  near,  "Take  my  horse  and  see 
that  he  is  properly  cared  for.  And  you,  Juan,  take 
the  hide  of  El  Feroz  and  let  us  see  how  fine  a  robe 
you  can  make  out  of  it." 


At  the  Conroyal  Rancho  39 

"Si,  si,  senor,"  answered  the  old  Mexican  ex- 
ultingly.  "He,  the  ugly  brute,  kill  my  wife's 
brother,  Pedro,  whom  I,  like  my  own  brother, 
loved,  and  'twill  give  my  soul  peace  one  fine  robe 
to  make  out  of  his  big  skin.  A  great  glory,  the 
killing  of  El  Feroz,  sefior,"  and  his  old  eyes  kindled. 
"Your  fame  like  a  swift  horse  will  travel." 

"Shucks!  Any  hunter  could  have  got  him  the 
same  as  we  did,"  and  Bud  hurried  into  the  house, 
all  care  for  the  glory  of  killing  El  Feroz  having  been 
driven  out  of  his  head  by  the  dying  miner's  re 
markable  revelations. 

At  the  door  of  the  house  Bud  was  met  by  his 
mother  and  Mrs.  Conroyal,  with  Ruth  and  lola  close 
behind  them.  The  bringing  of  the  dead  body  of 
the  murdered  miner  into  the  house  had  greatly  ex 
cited  both  women. 

"My  son/'  Mrs.  Randolph  cried  the  moment  she 
caught  sight  of  Bud,  "what  means  this  tale  of  mur 
der  and  robbery  and  the  bringing  of  the  dead  body 
of  a  strange  man  into  the  house  ?" 

"Oh,  mother,  mother,"  and  Bud  excitedly  caught 
hold  of  his  mother's  hand,  "the  most  wonderful,  the 
most  marvelous  thing  has  happened !" 

"What?"  and  the  astonished  and  horrified  woman 
caught  hold  of  both  of  his  shoulders  and  shook  him. 
"Have  you  gone  clean  crazy,  Bud  Randolph,  to 
speak  of  murder  and  robbery  like  that  ?" 

"I — I,"  stammered  Bud,  "I  forgot  the  dead  miner. 
We  were  too  late  to  save  him;  but  he  lived  long- 


40  The  Cave  of  Gold 

enough  to  tell  us — "  He  stopped  abruptly  and 
glanced  swiftly  around  the  room.  The  secret  of 
the  Cave  of  Gold  must  not  be  proclaimed  from  the 
housetops!  There  was  no  one  in  the  room  with 
himself,  but  the  two  women  and  the  two  girls. 
"Mother,  Mrs.  Conroyal,"  he  continued,  lowering 
his  voice,  "the  old  miner  before  he  died  told  Thure 
and  me  of  a  wonderful  Cave  of  Gold  that  he  had  dis 
covered  in  a  gulch  somewhere  in  the  mountains; 
and  he  made  Thure  and  me  his  heirs,  and  gave  us 
a  map,  showing  the  way  to  the  cave,  and  a  huge 
gold  nugget,  which  the  robbers  did  not  get,  that  he 
said  he  had  found  in  the  cave,  and  he —  But  here  is 
Thure!  He  has  the— " 

"Hush!  Not  so  loud!"  and  Thure,  who  at  that 
moment  stepped  into  the  room  from  the  sala,  where 
the  body  of  the  dead  miner  lay,  lifted  a  warning 
hand.  "There  are  many  ears  in  there,"  and  he 
pointed  to  the  door  he  had  just  closed  behind  him, 
"that  must  not  hear  what  we  have  to  tell.  Come, 
let  us  go  to  your  room,  mother,  where  there  won't 
be  any  danger  of  what  we  have  to  tell  you  being 
overheard,"  and  he  started  for  Mrs.  Conroyal's 
private  room,  followed  by  Bud  and  the  two  wonder 
ing  women  and  the  girls. 

"I — I,"  and  Thure  stopped  at  the  door  of  his 
mother's  room  and  looked  hesitatingly  at  lola  and 
Ruth,  "I — I  reckon  it  is  too  great  a  secret  to  tell 
you  two  girls  just  now.  You  had  better  wait — " 

"No!"— "No!"  broke  in  both  girls  indignantly, 


At  the  Conroyal  Rancho  41 

while  Ruth,  looking  as  if  she  would  like  to  box 
Thure's  ears,  declared: 

"We  girls  can  keep  a  secret  just  as  well  as  you 
boys  can,  and  you  know  it;  for,  haven't  we  saved 
you  from  many  a  licking  by  not  telling  your  dads 
what  you  had  been  up  to?  But  if  this  is  the  way 
you  are  going  to  treat  us,  we'll  fix  you  next  time," 
and  she  shook  her  head  threateningly. 

"Besides,"  supplemented  lola  triumphantly,  "we 
know  most  of  the  secret  already.  It's  about  a  Cave 
of  Gold  and  a  map  and — " 

"Oh,  Christmas!  You  couldn't  keep  nothing 
from  the  girls !"  and  the  face  Thure  turned  to  Bud 
showed  his  disgust. 

"Well,  I  reckon  the  secret  is  just  as  safe  with 
them  as  it  is  with  us/'  protested  Bud  stoutly,  flush 
ing  a  little,  "especially  when  they  know  how  im 
portant  it  is  to  keep  it  secret.  You  will  never  tell  a 
word  of  it  to  anybody,  will  you  girls  ?  It — it  might 
mean  murder,  if  you  did." 

"No,  no,"  affirmed  lola  emphatically.  "We'll 
not  breathe  a  word  of  it  to  a  living  human  being. 
We'll  die  first.  We'll  not  disappoint  your  trust  in 
us,  Bud,"  and  she  glanced  a  bit  scornfully  from  Bud 
to  her  brother.  "Will  we,  Ruth  ?" 

"Never,"  and  Ruth's  red  lips  closed  tightly  over 
her  pearly  teeth.  "Do  you  suppose  we'd  betray 
those  we  love?"  and  her  eyes  flashed  indignantly. 

"All  right.  See  that  you  don't,  then,"  and 
Thure's  face  cleared.  To  tell  the  truth  he  was  just 


42  The  Cave  of  Gold 

a  little  ashamed  of  the  lack  of  confidence  he  had 
shown  in  his  sister  and  Ruth.  "Anyhow,  you 
know  so  much  now  that  you  might  as  well  be  told 
the  rest,  so  come  on/'  and  he  opened  the  door  and 
carefully  closed  and  locked  it,  when  all  had  entered 
the  room. 

It  did  not  take  many  minutes  for  the  two  eager 
boys  to  tell  the  story  of  the  day's  remarkable  experi 
ences,  from  the  killing  of  the  great  grizzly  to  the 
death  of  the  old  miner ;  for  the  narrative,  under  the 
lash  of  their  active  tongues,  proceeded  in  running 
jumps,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  and  was  never 
allowed  to  lag  an  instant. 

"And  now,"  concluded  Thure  excitedly,  when  the 
last  of  the  wonderful  tale  had  been  told,  "Bud  and 
I  must  both  start  for  the  mines  just  as  soon  as  we 
can  get  ready;  and  get  father  and  Rex  and  Dill  and 
Uncle  Frank  and  Hammer  Jones  to  help  us  find 
this  Cave  of  Gold;  and  when  we  have  found  it — " 

"But/'  broke  in  Mrs.  Conroyal,  smiling  at 
Thure's  enthusiasm,  although  her  own  face  was 
flushed  and  her  eyes  were  sparkling  with  excite 
ment,  "where  is  this  wonderful  gold  nugget  and 
skin  map,  that  you  tell  us  the  miner  gave  you  in 
proof  of  his  remarkable  story?  You  seem  to  for 
get  that  you  have  not  yet  shown  us  your  proof." 

"Here,  here  it  is !"  and  the  excited  boy  thrust  one 
hand  into  his  pocket  and  triumphantly  pulled  out 
the  small  buckskin  bag;  and,  swiftly  turning  the 
bag  bottom  side  up,  dumped  its  contents  into  his 


At  the  Conroyal  Rancho  43 

mother's  lap ;  and  the  next  moment,  the  two  women 
and  the  two  girls  were  as  excitedly  examining  the 
big  nugget  and  the  rude  skin  map  as  ever  they  had 
been  examined  by  the  two  boys. 

"And  the  miner  told  you  that  the  bottom  of  the 
cave  was  covered  with  gold  nuggets  like  this?" 
queried  Mrs.  Randolph,  her  eyes  shining,  as  she  held 
up  the  nugget. 

"Yes,  yes/'  answered  Bud.  "Thousands  of  them, 
only  smaller.  Of  course  he  picked  up  the  biggest 
that  he  could  see.  We  can  go  to  the  mines  now, 
can't  we,  mother  ?" 

"And  this  queer  skin  map  tells  you  how  to  find 
this  wonderful  Cave  of  Gold?"  and  Mrs.  Conroyal 
spread  out  the  map  on  her  lap  and  stared  wonder- 
ingly  at  it.  "I  can't  see  how  all  this  jumble  of 
crooked  lines  and  letters  can  tell  you  anything." 

"Why,  it's  easy,  mother,"  and  Thure  bent  eagerly 
over  the  map.  "You  see  you  start  from  Hangtown 
and  go  in  a  northeasterly  direction  to  Humbug  Can 
yon  and  Three  Tree  Mountain  and  Goose  Neck 
Lake  and  the  Devil's  Slide  to  Lot's  Canyon ;  and  then 
up  Lot's  Canyon  until  you  come  to  Crooked  Arm 
Gulch,  and  then  up  Crooked  Arm  Gulch  until  you 
come  to  the  Golden  Elbow ;  and  the  cave,  you  see,  is 
right  in  the  point  of  the  elbow,"  and  Thure's  finger 
rested  excitedly  on  the  black  spot  on  the  map  marked 
"cave."  "The  cave  is  about  five  days  from  Hang- 
town,  the  miner  said.  We  can  go  to  the  mines  now, 
can't  we,  mother  ?" 


44  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"Hangtown!  What  a  horrid  name!"  and  Mrs. 
Conroyal  shuddered.  "But,"  and  she  started  to  her 
feet  excitedly,  "wasn't  your  father's  last  letter  sent 
from  Hangtown  ?  I  am  sure  it  was,"  and  she  hur 
ried  to  her  writing  desk,  picked  up  a  letter  and 
glanced  eagerly  at  its  heading.  "See!  It  was! 
Here  is  the  name,"  and  she  pointed  triumphantly  to 
the  letter. 

"You  see,  it  won't  be  difficult  to  find  the  Cave  of 
Gold  from  the  map,  mother,  not  with  dad's  help. 
And,  mother,  we  must  start  for  the  mines  just  as 
soon  as  we  can  get  ready  to  go.  You  surely  will  let 
us  go  now !"  and  Thure  caught  hold  of  his  mother's 
hand.  "Say,  yes,  mother,  now ;  because  Bud  and  I 
want  to  start  to-morrow  morning,  and  there  is  much 
to  be  done  before  we  go." 

"My  boy,"  and  Mrs.  Conroyal's  face  sobered, 
"you  are  all  the  man  that  the  mines  have  left  me. 
Husband,  son,  servants,  all  have  gone  to  the  mines, 
until  now  you  and  Bud  are  the  only  able-bodied 
men  left  on  the  rancho — and  now  the  mines  are 
calling  you !" 

"But,  mother,  think  of  what  the  finding  of  such 
a  mine  means  to  us  all !  And  father  and  Mr.  Ran 
dolph,  if  they  knew  about  the  Cave  of  Gold  and 
the  skin  map,  I  am  sure  would  want  us  to  come;  and 
Old  Juan  and  Manuel  and  the  boys  can  take  care 
of  the  rancho;  and,  you  know,  if  we  find  the  Cave 
of  Gold  and  get  the  gold,  then  all  of  us,  father  and 
the  rest,  will  be  back  soon ;  and  we  will  be  rich ;  and 


At  the  Conroyal  Rancho  45 

dad  can  build  you  the  new  house  that  you  want  and 
furnish  it  the  way  that  you  want  it  furnished;  and 
Bud  and  I  can  go  East  and  get  the  education  that 
we  need  to  fit  us  to  do  a  man's  work  in  the  great 
new  State  of  California  that  is  bound  to  be  made 
out  of  this  country,  now  that  it  has  become  a  part 
of  the  United  States.  It  is  yes,  isn't  it,  mother? 
And  we  can  start,  can't  we,  to-morrow  morning?" 
and  Thure's  arm  went  round  his  mother  and  he 
drew  her  appealingly  to  him. 

For  a  minute  or  two  Mrs.  Conroyal  did  not  an 
swer.  She  was  battling  with  her  mother-love. 
She  knew  what  this  quest  of  the  Cave  of  Gold  might 
mean — hardships,  dangers,  even  death  for  those  she 
loved.  But  she  was  of  pioneer  stock,  had  often 
seen  her  dearest  go  forth  to  face  the  dangers  of  the 
unknown  wilderness;  and,  at  last,  with  something 
of  Spartan-like  fortitude,  she  turned  to  Thure. 

"Yes,  my  son,  you  may  go,"  she  said.  "You 
may  go  to  your  father  and  tell  him  all;  and  he  will 
decide  about  the  search  for  the  Cave  of  Gold." 

"Hurrah !  We  can  go !  Mother  says  I  can  go !" 
and  Thure  swung  his,  free  hand  around  his  head. 

"And  mother  says  I  can  go!  Hurrah  for  the 
gold-mines !"  and  Bud  clapped  his  sister  on  the  back, 
by  way  of  letting  off  some  of  the  surplus  steam  of 
his  enthusiasm.  "It  will  be  great !  And  I'll  bring 
you  back  a  necklace  of  gold  nuggets,  sister  mine. 
Now,  we  must  be  getting  ready." 

"But,  first  we  all  have  a  solemn  duty  to  perform," 


46  The  Cave  of  Gold 

Mrs.  Conroyal  said  gravely.  "We  must  give  the 
dead  miner  decent  burial,  as  we  would  wish  our  own 
dear  ones  buried,  should  they  die  amongst  stran 
gers.  See  that  the  grave  is  dug,  my  son ;  and  no 
tify  all  that  the  funeral  will  be  held  in  the  house- 
sala  at  the  going  down  of  the  sun.  Come,  we  will 
make  ready  the  house  for  the  funeral,"  and,  fol 
lowed  by  Mrs.  Randolph  and  the  two  girls,  she  hur 
ried  from  the  room. 

A  half  an  hour  later,  all  who  were  left  on  the 
rancho  gathered  in  the  sala  to  pay  the  last  respects 
of  the  living,  who  soon  must  die,  to  the  dead,  who 
but  a  short  time  before  lived.  There  was  no  min 
ister,  no  priest  to  be  had.  Mrs.  Conroyal  read  the 
church  service  for  the  dead  over  the  body  of  the  un 
fortunate  miner;  and  then  six  of  the  oldest  and 
Strongest  boys  gently  lifted  the  boards  on  which  the 
corpse  lay  to  their  shoulders  and,  just  as  the  rays  of 
the  setting  sun  redden  the  tops  of  the  western  moun 
tains,  bore  the  body  slowly  to  its  last  resting  place, 
beneath  the  outstretched  arms  of  a  sturdy  oak,  on 
the  top  of  a  little  hillock,  near  the  murmuring  waters 
of  a  small  stream  that  flowed  close  by  the  house. 

That  night  was  a  busy  night  at  the  Conroyal 
rancho.  Everything  must  be  got  ready  for  the 
going  of  Thure  and  Bud  in  the  morning;  and  it  was 
surprising  how  many  things  there  were  that  needed 
doing.  But,  at  length,  long  after  midnight,  every 
thing  was  in  readiness  and  the  two  boys  entered 
their  sleeping  room  for  their  last  night's  rest,  for 


At  tHe  Conroyal  Rancho  47 

they  knew  not  how  long,  in  the  dear  old  home- 
house. 

"I  can  hardly  realize  that  we  are  to  start  for  the 
mines  in  the  morning,"  Thure  said,  as  he  quickly 
undressed  and  jumped  into  bed.  "All  that  has  hap 
pened  to-day  seems  more  like  a  dream  than  the 
reality ;  and  I  am  almost  afraid  that  I  will  wake  up 
in  the  morning  and  find  that  I  have  been  only  dream- 
ing." 

"Well,"  declared  Bud,  "if  it's  only  dreaming,  I'm 
going  to  get  into  bed  and  dream  some  more  as  quick 
as  I  can;  so,  not  meaning  to  be  impolite,  shut  up 
and  good  night/'  and  he  settled  himself  down  com 
fortably  in  the  bed  and  closed  his  eyes.  And,  in 
five  minutes,  in  spite  of  the  feverish  excitements  of 
the  day,  the  two  tired  boys  were  sound  asleep. 


CHAPTER  V 

OFF  FOR  THE  GOLD-MINES 

THE  next  morning  when  the  sun  rose,  in  all  the 
golden  glory  of  dawning  day  in  beautiful  Cal 
ifornia,  above  the  tops  of  the  eastern  mountains 
and  shone  down  into  the  Valley  of  the  Sacramento, 
its  rays  fell  on  an  interesting  scene  in  front  of  the 
Conroyal  house,  where  nearly  all  the  men,  women 
and  children  of  the  place  had  gathered  about  two 
heavily  laden  pack-horses,  four  saddled  horses,  and 
two  boys,  and  two  girls.  The  two  boys  were  Thure 
and  Bud,  ready  to  start  for  the  mines,  the  two  girls 
were  lola  and  Ruth,  who  were  to  ride  with  the  boys 
for  an  hour  or  so  on  their  way,  the  four  saddled 
horses  were  their  riding  horses,  and  the  two  pack- 
horses  bore  the  outfits  of  the  young  miners,  as  well 
as  sundry  tokens  of  love  and  affection  sent  to  the 
dear  ones  at  the  mines.  The  boys  stood  at  their 
horses'  heads,  ready  to  mount.  The  very  moment 
of  departure  had  come. 

"Well,  I  reckon  we  must  be  going  now.  Good-by, 
mother,"  and  Thure  turned  for  a  last  embrace  in 
those  dear  arms,  and  then  *swung  himself  up  into 
his  saddle. 

"God  bless  you,  and  protect  you,  and  bring  you 

48 


Off  for  the  Gold-Mines  49 

safe  home,  my  son/'  and  Mrs.  Conroyal,  trying  in 
vain  to  keep  back  the  tears  from  her  eyes  and  the 
sobs  from  her  voice,  embraced  and  kissed  Thure 
farewell  and  bravely  saw  him  mount. 

Bud  tried  very  hard  to  control  his  feelings,  but 
his  voice  choked  a  little  and  there  were  tears  in  his 
eyes,  as  he  kissed  his  mother  good-by  and  jumped 
into  his  saddle;  and  then,  just  to  break  the  gloom 
that  seemed  to  be  gathering  too  thickly  about  the 
parting,  he  jerked  off  his  hat,  and,  swinging  it 
around  his  head,  shouted:  "Hurrah,  for  the  gold 
mines  !  Hurrah,  we're  off  for  the  mines !" 

And  everybody  shouted  with  him;  and,  in  the 
midst  of  the  shouting,  the  two  boys,  leading  their 
pack-horses  and  with  lola  and  Ruth  on  their  horses 
by  their  sides,  rode  out  of  the  house-court  and 
started  across  the  valley  toward  the  distant  eastern 
mountains. 

The  search  for  the  dead  miner's  Cave  of  Gold 
had  begun. 

lola  Conroyal  and  Ruth  Randolph  were  two  very 
lively  and  high-spirited  girls,  just  old  enough  to 
see  all  the  romance  and  little  of  the  rough  reality 
and  danger  of  such  a  quest  as  their  two  brothers  had 
begun.  The  wonderful  tale  of  the  dying  miner, 
with  its  Cave  of  Gold,  its  rough-drawn  map  and  its 
big  gold  nugget,  had  appealed  very  strongly  to  their 
vivid  and  romantic  imaginations;  and  the  starting 
of  Thure  and  Bud  in  search  of  this  marvelous 
cave  had  surrounded  them,  in  their  eyes,  with  some- 


5O  The  Cave  of  Gold 

thing  of  the  glamour  that  gilds  the  heroes  of  ro 
mance.  They  envied  them  their  quest;  they  would 
have  gone  joyfully  with  them,  if  they  could;  and 
now,  as  they  rode  along  by  their  sides  in  the  cool 
morning  air,  they  could  think  or  talk  of  little  else 
than  this  wonderful  quest  and  of  what  would  hap 
pen,  if  the  boys  should  really  and  truly  find  that 
marvelous  Cave  of  Gold. 

"Will  you — will  you  promise  to  give  me  the  first 
gold  nugget  you  pick  up  in  this  wonderful  cave?" 
Ruth  said,  after  they  had  been  riding  and  talking 
for  some  little  while,  glancing  up  a  bit  shyly  into 
Thure's  face.  "I  will  have  a  breastpin  made  out  of 
it  and  always  wear  it  in  remembrance  of  that  great 
event — and — and  of  you/'  she  added  in  a  lower 
voice,  her  face  flushing  a  little. 

"Sure  I  will!  I — that  is  exactly  what  I  had 
planned  to  do  anyhow/'  Thure  declared.  "And  I'll 
see  that  it  is  a  big  one,  Ruth,  the  biggest  that  I  can 
find.  And  the  next  nugget  I  pick  up  you  shall 
have  for  a  ring;  and  then  I'll  pick  up  a  lot  of  little 
nuggets  and  make  you  a  gold  necklace  out  of 
them." 

"That  will  be  glorious,"  and  Ruth's  eyes  shone. 
"And — and  I  shall  prize  them  all  very  much.  Oh, 
dear,  I  don't  see  why  we  girls  were  just  born  girls 
and  not  boys!  I  never  wanted  to  do  anything  as 
much  as  I  want  to  go  with  you  and  Bud,  and  help 
hunt  for  this  Cave  of  Gold.  I'd  go  anyway,  if 
mother  would  let  me." 


Off  for  the  Gold-Mines  51 

"So  would  I,"  lola  declared,  her  dark  eyes  and 
cheeks  glowing  at  the  thought.  "It  is  terrible  to 
be  just  a  girl,  when  there  is  anything  like  this  to  be 
done.  We,  at  least  Ruth  and  I,  do  not  want  to  be 
put  in  a  cage  and  fed,  like  canary  birds.  We  want 
to  do  things,  too;  and  we  could  do  things,  too,  if 
folks  would  only  let  us/' 

"Hoity-toity!"  laughed  Thure.  "I  reckon  God 
knew  what  He  was  about  when  He  made  you  'just 
girls' — just  sisters,  sweethearts,  wives,  mothers, 
the  dearest  words  spoken  in  every  language  the 
world  over;  and,  for  one,  I  am  powerful  glad  that 
He  did  make  you  'just  girls/  " 

"So  am  I,"  Bud  agreed,  so  emphatically  that  all 
laughed. 

"But,  it  really  does  seem  too  bad  that  lola  and  I 
have  got  to  stay  at  home  with  our  mothers,  where 
nothing  exciting  ever  happens/'  persisted  Ruth, 
"while  you  two,  just  because  you  are  boys,  can  go 
hunting  caves  of  gold  and  have  all  sorts  of  wonder 
ful  adventures — not  that  I  really  and  truly  would 
like  to  be  a  boy,"  she  added  hastily  and  a  little  con 
tradictorily.  "Boys  are  so  awkward  and  have  such 
big  feet  and  hands,  and — and — " 

"And  are  such  good  fellows  to  wait  on  girls," 
grinned  Bud  provokingly. 

"Which  shows  girls'  real  superiority,"  smiled  back 
Ruth. 

"Well,  if  you  are  satisfied,  what  are  you  kicking 
for?  You  haven't  heard  Thure  and  me  wishing 


52  The  Cave  of  Gold 

that  we  were  girls,  have  you?"  queried  Bud  tri 
umphantly. 

"Well,  I  should  say  not,  not  when  you  are  off  on 
a  hunt  like  this  anyhow!"  Ruth  rejoined.  "Oh,  but 
I  do  hope  you  will  find  that  Cave  of  Gold!  And 
come  back  covered  with  gold  nuggets  and  glory !" 

By  this  time  our  young  friends  had  reached  the 
foot  of  the  ridge,  on  whose  top  it  had  been  agreed 
they  were  to  say  farewell  to  one  another;  and  the 
thought  of  the  nearness  of  the  parting  was  sud 
denly  pressed  home  to  each  heart,  and  they  rode  to 
the  top  of  the  ridge  without  speaking  a  word.  Here 
they  pulled  up  their  horses ;  and,  for  a  moment,  their 
eyes  looked  wistfully  into  one  another's  faces,  while 
they  sat  silent  in  their  saddles. 

"Oh,  come,  let's  have  the  agony  over !"  and  Bud 
tried  to  make  his  voice  sound  cheery  and  uncon 
cerned.  "Good-by,  Ruth/'  and,  urging  his  horse 
up  close  to  the  side  of  his  sister's  horse,  he  leaned 
over,  threw  his  arms  around  her  neck  and  kissed 
her.  Then  he  turned  and  quickly  served  lola  in 
the  same  way;  and,  striking  spurs  into  his  horse, 
started  off,  his  pack-horse  tugging  at  the  rope  be 
hind  him. 

Thure  hesitated  a  moment;  and  then,  following 
Bud's  example,  quickly  kissed  lola  and  Ruth  good- 
by,  and  started  after  Bud. 

"Don't  forget  that  you  have  promised  me  the  first 
gold  nugget  that  you  pick  up  in  the  cave!"  called 
Ruth. 


Off  for  the  Gold-Mines  53 

"Nor  the  gold  necklace !"  warned  lola. 

Thure  and  Bud  waved  their  hands  and  shouted 
in  reply;  but  rode  steadily  on. 

The  two  girls  sat  on  their  horses  and  watched 
them,  until,  with  final  shouts  and  the  waving  of 
their  hats,  they  passed  over  the  top  of  a  distant 
ridge  and  vanished  from  sight.  Then  lola  and 
Ruth  turned  their  horses  homeward  and  rode 
silently  down  the  other  side  of  the  ridge.  They  did 
not  care  to  talk,  even  about  the  wonderful  Cave  of 
Gold,  just  then. 

They  had  ridden  something  like  a  couple  of  miles: 
on  their  way  homeward  and  their  tongues  were  just 
beginning  to  wag,  girl-like,  again,  when  both  were 
considerably  startled  by  a  loud  hallo,  coming  from 
behind.  They  turned  quickly  and  saw  two  horse 
men,  who  had  just  ridden  out  from  behind  a  small 
grove  of  trees,  some  twenty  rods  back  and  to  the* 
right,  and  who  were  now  riding  toward  them. 

"I  wonder  who  they  can  be!"  exclaimed  Ruth^ 
"I  am  sure  that  I  never  saw  them  before;  but  I  sup 
pose  we  had  better  wait  and  find  out  what  they 
want.  They  might  be  lost.  They  look  like  stran 
gers  to  this  part  of  the  country,"  and  she  pulled  up- 
her  horse. 

"Yes,"  agreed  lola,  halting  her  horse  by  the  side^ 
of  Ruth.  "They  are  probably  foreigners  on  their 
way  to  the  mines ;  and  we  had  better  wait  to  see  if 
we  can  be  of  any  help  to  them." 

In  the  holster  that  hung  from  the  pommel  of  the 


54  The  Cave  of  Gold 

saddle  of  each  girl  there  was  a  double-barreled  pistol, 
loaded  and  ready  for  instant  use;  and  it  was  not 
there  for  ornament.  Both  girls  had  been  trained  to 
use  the  rifle  and  the  pistol ;  and  never,  since  lola's 
frightful  experience  with  the  Mexican  desperado, 
Padilla,  some  three  years  before,1  had  either  girl 
been  permitted  to  ride,  even  a  short  distance  from 
the  house,  without  having  one  or  both  of  these 
weapons  with  her.  Consequently,  trained  and 
armed  as  they  were,  they  saw  nothing  to  fear  in 
meeting  the  two  strange  horsemen,  although  they 
were  alone  in  a  little  valley  and  out  of  sight  and 
hearing  of  every  other  human  being,  so  far  as  they 
knew. 

The  two  horsemen  came  up  on  a  slow  gallop ;  and 
pulled  up  their  horses  a  dozen  feet  from  the  girls. 

"We  asks  your  pardon,  ladies,"  said  the  larger 
of  the  two  men — a  big  red-headed  man  with  a 
broken  nose — as  he  awkwardly  doffed  his  hat. 
"But,  seein'  you  ridin'  by,  an'  thinkin'  you  might 
be  able  tew  give  us  sum  information,  we  bein' 
-•strangers  in  this  part  of  Californy,  we  made  bold 
tew  hallo  tew  you/'  and  he  paused,  his  bold  eyes 
staring  admiringly  into  the  dark  face  of  lola. 

"We  will  be  very  glad  to  help  you,  if  we  can/'  an 
swered  lola,  a  bit  shortly,  for  she  did  not  like  the 
looks  of  the  big  man  with  the  broken  nose.  "What 
Is  it  you  would  like  to  know?" 

1  For  an  account  of  this  adventure,  see  Fighting  With  Fremont, 
the  preceding  book  of  this  series. 


Off  for  the  Gold-Mines  55 

"Wai,"  answered  the  man,  glancing  toward  his 
companion,  "me  an'  my  pardner  was  tew  meet  a 
man  over  yonder  by  that  big  rock  that  sticks  itself 
out  of  th'  ground,  like  a  nose  on  a  man's  face,"  and 
he  pointed  to  a  huge  rock  a  mile  or  more  away  that- 
shot  up  out  of  the  level  of  the  valley,  not  unlike  the 
nose  on  a  man's  face.  "He  was  tew  git  thar  'bout 
noon  yisterday;  an'  we  haven't  seen  hide  nor  ha'r 
of  him  yit;  an',  gittin'  powerful  tired  of  waitin'  an* 
thinkin'  you  ladies  might  have  seen  him,  we  stops, 
you  tew  ask." 

"An'  bein'  a  leetle  afeared  he  might  have  come 
tew  harm,"  the  other  horseman,  a  small  man  with  a 
pock-marked  face,  here  broke  in,  "seem'  that  he  was, 
a  comin'  from  th'  diggin's  an'  was  supposed  tew 
have  considerable  gold-dust  with  him,  we  makes 
bold  tew  stop  you  ladies  tew  ask  about  him,  jest  as 
my  pardner  says,  thinkin'  you  might  have  seen 
him." 

"What— what  did  he  look  like?"  lola  asked  anx 
iously,  the  moment  the  man  paused;  for  her 
thoughts  had  gone  instantly  to  the  dead  man  they 
had  buried  last  night,  when  he  had  spoken  of  the 
man  they  were  looking  for  as  being  on  his  way  back 
from  the  diggings. 

"Wai,  he  won't  exactly  what  you  ladies  would 
call  a  beauty,"  answered  the  big  man,  grinning, 
"seein'  that  he'd  let  his  whiskers  an'  ha'r  grow  long~ 
an'  scraggly  all  over  his  face  an'  head;  but  you'd 
a-knowed  him,  if  you'd  a-seen  him,  by  a  peecoolyer 


'56  The  Cave  of  Gold 

scar  over  his  left  eye,  shaped  sumthin'  like  a  hoss- 
shoe,  with  th'  ends  of  th'  shoe  pointin'  t'ord  th' 
corners  of  th'  eye/' 

"Why,"  and  lola's  face  whitened,  "he  must  have 
been  the  man  our  brothers,  Thure  and  Bud,  brought 
home  with  them  yesterday  afternoon!  He  had  a 
scar  on  his  forehead  like  that.  Didn't  you  notice 
it?"  and  she  turned  to  Ruth. 

"Yes,"  Ruth  answered,  "and  he  was  from  the 


mines." 


"Wai,  now,  that's  good  news,"  declared  the  big 
man,  glancing  out  of  the  corners  of  his  eyes  at  his 
companion.  "We  was  af eared  sum  harm  had  come 
tew  him.  An'  so  he's  restin'  safe  an'  easy  at  your 
home.  Now,  whar  might  that  be,  if  I  may  be  so 
foold  as  tew  ask?" 

"But,  he'd  been  robbed — murdered!"  exclaimed 
lola.  "And  it  was  his  dead  body  that  had  been 
brought  to  our  house.  We  buried  him  last  night." 

"Robbed !  Murdered !"  almost  yelled  the  big  man. 
"Do  you  hear  that,  Spike?"  and  he  turned  excitedly 
to  his  companion.  "Sumone  got  him  for  his  gold, 
jest  as  he  was  af  eared  they  would.  An'  you  say 
'twas  your  brothers  who  found  him,  an'  took  th' 
body  home  with  them,  an'  gave  it  decent  burial. 
Now  I  call  that  decent,  don't  you,  Spike?"  and  he 
glanced  sharply  at  his  companion. 

"White  an'  decent,"  agreed  Spike.  "But,"  and 
his  small  snake-like  eyes  shifted  swiftly  from  face 
/to  face  of  the  two  girls,  as  he  spoke,  "did  he — did 


Off  for  the  Gold-Mines  5£ 

he  leave  any  message  for  his  friends;  or,  was  he 
dead  when  your  brothers  found  him?" 

"He  lived  only  a  little  while,"  answered  lola. 
"He  had  been  stabbed  by  one  of  the  cowards,  and 
he  died  before  they  could  get  him  to  the  house.  I 
don't  think  he  left  any  message.  I  don't  remember 
of  hearing  our  brothers  say  anything  about  a  mes 
sage,  do  you  ?"  and  she  turned  to  Ruth. 

"No,"  replied  Ruth.  "He— he  left  no  word  for 
any  friend.  He  only — "  she  stopped  abruptly,  and 
just  in  time ;  for,  unthinkingly,  she  had  been  about 
to  speak  of  the  skin  map  and  the  Cave  of  Gold. 

Both  men  started  slightly  at  her  words  and  abrupt 
stop  and  flashed  swift  glances  into  each  other's  eyes. 

"Now,  that's  tew  bad,"  declared  the  big  man. 
"We  sure  thought  he  would  leave  a  message  for  us,, 
seem'  that  he  knowed  we  was  here  a-waitin'  for  him. 
OBut,  I  reckon,  we'd  better  ride  on  tew  th'  house  with 
you  ladies  an'  see  them  brothers  of  your'n  personal. 
lYou  see  we  wants  tew  make  sart'in  'twas  our  friend 
that  was  robbed  and  murdered,  besides  he  might 
have  left  sum  word  for  Spike  an'  me,  an'  your- 
brothers  not  have  mentioned  it,  bein'  naturally  ex- 
cited-like  over  th'  robbery  an'  murder." 

"But,  you  can't  see  them  now!"  exclaimed  lola, 
impulsively.  "They  left  for  the  mines  this  very 
morning.  Why,  we  parted  from  them  not  more 
than  an  hour  ago." 

Both  men  started  violently  at  this  news,  and 
again  the  swift  suspicious  glances  flashed  from  eyes 


58  The  Cave  of  Gold 

to  eyes,  and  an  ugly  threatening  look  came  into  thefr 
faces. 

"Gone  tew  th'  mines !  An'  started  sudden,  this 
very  mornin'  I"  exclaimed  Spike  excitedly.  "Did — 
Hid  th'  old  miner  say  anything  'bout  whar  he  found 
his;  gold  afore  he  died?"  and  his  beady  black  eyes 
glowed  angrily  into  the  faces  of  the  two  girls. 
"We're  his  friends,  an'  have  a  right  tew  know,  an* 
we  want  tew  know,  an'  we're  goin'  tew  know,"  and 
he  urged  his  horse  nearer  to  the  girls. 

Both  girls  were  badly  frightened  by  this  sudden 
and  unexpected  change  in  the  two  men;  for  there 
was  no  mistaking  the  ugly  and  dangerous  look  on 
their  faces ;  but  neither  girl  lost  her  head. 

"You  will  not  come  a  step  closer  than  you  now 
are,"  and  the  white  hand  of  lola  flashed  to  the  pistol 
in  her  holster ;  and  Spike,  to  his  evident  horror,  sud 
denly  found  himself  looking  straight  down  into  two 
little  round  holes  that  seemed  to  his  startled  eyes 
as  big  as  the  mouths  of  cannons. 

"And  you,  too,  stay  right  where  you  are,"  and 
Ruth's  pistol  suddenly  turned  the  big  man  with  a 
broken  nose  into  a  wildly  staring  equestrian  statue. 
"We  two  girls  are  not  going  to  take  any  chances 
with  you  two  men;  and — and  now  that  we  have 
given  you  all  the  information  that  we  have  for  you, 
you  can  turn  your  horses  around  and  ride  back  the 
way  you  came." 

The  faces  of  both  girls  had  suddenly  grown  as 
white  as  milk;  for,  almost  at  the  same  moment,  each 


p 


YOU    CAN    TURN    YOUR   HORSES    AROUND    AND     RIDE   BACK    THE   WAY 
YOU    CAME."  ",    ,      - 


Off  for  the  Gold-Mines  59 

had  remembered  that  the  dying  miner  had  described 
his  two  murderers  as  a  big  red-headed  man  with  a 
broken  nose  and  a  small  man  with  a  pock-marked 
face — and  they  were  now  looking  straight  into  the 
faces  of  two  such  men.  But  the  hands  that  held  the 
pistols  did  not  tremble ;  and  there  was  no  mistaking 
the  look  in  the  shining  eyes  back  of  the  little  round 
holes.  They  would  shoot;  and,  if  they  shot,  they 
would  not  miss ;  and  it  did  not  take  the  two  men  two 
seconds  to  discover  these  facts. 

"Oh,  come,  this  ain't  no  hold  up  game,  is  it, 
ladies  ?"  and  the  big  man  tried  to  look  as  if  he  con 
sidered  the  whole  affair  a  huge  joke;  but  he  was 
very  careful  not  to  make  a  threatening  move;  and 
he  kept  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  two  little  round  holes 
of  Ruth's  pistol,  in  a  horrible  staring  way  that  Ruth 
never  forgot. 

"No,"  Ruth  answered  shortly.  "It  is  not  a  hold 
up ;  and  there  is  going  to  be  no  hold  up  in  this  case," 
she  added  significantly;  "so  just  turn  your  horses 
around  and  gallop  back  the  way  you  came ;  and  be 
very  careful  not  to  let  your  hands  go  near  your  belts 
or  to  look  back  while  doing  it/'  she  warned. 

"Oh,  say,  now,"  began  the  small  man.  "This 
ain't  hospital-like.  We  ain't  meanin'  you  ladies  no 
harm.  We—" 

"Drop  the  talk  and  turn  your  horses  around  and 
get,"  lola  commanded  so  imperatively,  so  threaten 
ingly  that  both  men,  in  a  sudden  panic  of  fear — 
Take  nearly  all  rascals  they  were  cowards  and  those 


60  The  Cave  of  Gold 

two  pistols  in  those  two  girlish  hands  might  go  off 
at  any  instant — whirled  their  horses  around  and 
galloped  off,  while  a  bullet  from  one  of  the  barrels 
of  lola's  pistol,  whistling  between  their  heads,  added 
to  their  panic  and  speed. 

"Do  you,"  and  Ruth  turned  her  white  face  to  lola, 
the  moment  the  two  men  were  at  a  safe  distance, 
"do  you  really  think  they  were  the  two  men  who 
murdered  the  miner  ?" 

"Yes,"  answered  lola,  as  she  began  reloading  her 
pistol,  with  hands  that  trembled  now  so  that  she 
could  hardly  pour  the  powder  into  the  barrel.  "I 
am  sure  they  were.  Ugh!  But  what  a  dreadful 
fright  they  gave  me !  I  felt  certain  they  were  going 
to  murder  us,  when  they  started  toward  us." 

"And — and  do  you  suppose  they  were  trying  to 
find  out  about  that  skin  map  and  the  Cave  of  Gold  ?" 
and  Ruth's  face  again  began  whitening. 

"Yes,  that  is  it!"  and  lola  started.  "That  was 
what  made  them  so  angry  and  ugly,  when  we  told 
them  that  Thure  and  Bud  had  already  started  for 
the  mines.  They  at  once  suspicioned  that  the  boys 
had  the  map  and  that  they  had  started  out  to  find 
the  Cave  of  Gold.  Oh,  Ruth,"  and  a  look  of  horror 
came  into  lola's  face,  "do  you  suppose  they  will 
start  on  the  trail  of  Thure  and  Bud  and  try  to  get 
the  map  from  them?  Why,  they  might  murder 
them!" 

"That  is  exactly  what  I  am  afraid  they  will  do," 
declared  Ruth,  her  own  face  reflecting  the  horror  in 


Off  for  the  Gold-Mines  6l 

lola's  face.  "But  you  may  be  sure  that  two  cowards 
like  them  will  never  get  the  best  of  our  brothers,  un 
less  they  do  it  in  some  sneaking  underhanded  way; 
and  the  boys  have  been  warned  to  look  out  for  them. 
It  won't  take  Thure  and  Bud  as  long  to  discover 
who  they  are,  as  it  did  us.  The  instant  they  see 
that  broken  nose  and  pock-marked  face,  they  will  be 
on  their  guard.  But  I  do  wish  we  had  said  nothing 
about  the  boys  starting  for  the  mines.  Anyhow 
that  is  about  all  the  information  they  did  get  from 
us  that  will  do  them  any  good,  thank  goodness! 
And  they  will  have  a  mighty  hard  time  finding  and 
following  their  trail,  unless  they  are  old  hunters  and 
trappers;  and  they  did  not  look  as  if  they  were. 
Anyhow  it  can't  be  helped  now ;  and  the  best  thing 
that  we  can  do  is  to  get  back  home  as  quickly  as 


we  can." 


"I  don't  think  we  had  better  say  anything  to  our 
mothers  about  meeting  the  two  men,"  lola  said,  as 
with  a  final  look  in  the  direction  of  the  two  horse 
men,  who  were  still  galloping  up  the  valley,  they 
turned  their  horses  homeward.  "It  wouldn't  do  any 
good  to  tell  them  and  they'd  worry  a  lot." 

"You're  right.  Mum's  the  word,"  agreed  Ruth ; 
and  then  both  girls  struck  their  horses  sharply  and 
started  on  a  swift  gallop  for  the  Conroyal  rancho, 
where  we  must  leave  them  for  the  present  and  re 
turn  to  Thure  and  Bud. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   SIGN   OF   THE   TWO   RED   THUMBS 

AT  the  date  of  the  happenings  here  recorded, 
1849,  the  greater  part  of  California  was  still 
an  unbroken  wilderness,  inhabited  only  by  scattered 
tribes  of  Indians  and  the  wild  beasts.  For  some 
three  hundred  years  the  Spaniards  and  the  Mexi 
cans  had  occupied  a  few  choice  spots  along  the  coast, 
with  now  and  then  an  isolated  ranchero  in  the  great 
interior  valleys  of  the  Sacramento  and  the  San 
Joaquin  Rivers.  Then,  in  1846,  had  come  the  War 
with  Mexico  and  the  Conquest  of  California  by  the 
Americans,  swiftly  followed  by  the  discovery  of  gold 
in  1848  and  the  great  inflow  of  gold-seekers  from 
all  parts  of  the  world  of  1849  and  later,  who,  of 
course,  all  rushed  pell-mell  to  the  gold  regions,  leav 
ing  the  rest  of  California  more  thinly  populated  than 
ever.  Indeed,  in  1849,  a^  California,  except  the  gold 
regions,  was  practically  deserted;  and,  since  the 
gold  regions  were  located  in  what  had  been,  a  few 
weeks  before,  a  mountainous  wilderness,  nearly 
everybody  in  California  was  living  in  the  wilderness, 
and,  necessarily,  living  under  primitive  wilderness 
conditions — a  wild,  free,  independent  sort  of  a  life 

62 


The  Sign  of  the  Two  Red  Thumbs        63 

that  quickly  brought  to  the  surface  the  real  char 
acter  of  each  individual. 

Such,  then,  was  the  California  of  1849,  the  Cali 
fornia  of  Thure  and  Bud ;  and  such  were  the  condi 
tions  of  the  life,  the  wild  romantic  life  of  the  wilder 
ness  mining  camps,  toward  which  we  left  our  young 
friends  hastening,  their  unwilling  pack-horses  pull 
ing  and  tugging  on  the  ropes  which  were  dragging 
them  away  from  the  home-pastures,  when  we  rode 
a  little  way  on  the  homeward  journey  with  lola  and 
Ruth. 

Now,  to  return  to  Thure  and  Bud. 

The  Conroyal  rancho  was  situated  in  the  Lower 
Sacramento  Valley,  some  two-days'  journey  from 
Sutter's  Fort,  near  which  the  City  of  Sacramento 
on  the  Sacramento  River  had  sprung  into  a  sudden 
and  marvelous  existence;  and,  as  Sacramento  City 
was  then  the  final  rendezvous  of  all  those  bound  for 
the  mines,  some  forty  miles  in  the  wilderness  of 
mountains  to  the  east,  Thure  and  Bud,  naturally,, 
had  headed  straight  for  this  town,  intending,  when 
there,  to  find  someone  going  to  Hangtown,  with 
whom  they  might  journey  to  this  mining  camp, 
where  they  hoped  to  find  their  fathers  and  their 
friends.  Both  boys  were  well  acquainted  with  the 
trail  to  Sutter's  Fort,  having  been  there  frequently 
with  their  fathers ;  and,  since  Sacramento  City  was 
only  a  couple  of  miles  or  so  from  Sutter's  Fort,  they 
would  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  their  way  thither. 
The  trail,  for  the  greater  part  of  the  distance,  ran 


64  The  Cave  of  Gold 

through  beautiful  valleys  and  over  low-lying  hills, 
where  nature  still  reigned  unfretted  by  man  and 
where  a  human  being  was  seldom  seen,  consequently 
Thure  and  Bud  expected  to  have  a  lonely  ride  to 
Sacramento  City. 

For  some  little  while  after  the  departure  of  the 
two  girls  neither  boy  spoke.  Somehow  they  did  not 
feel  like  talking,  not  even  about  the  wonderful  Cave 
of  Gold,  nor  the  skin  map,  nor  the  death  of  the  old 
miner.  They  were  thinking  of  home  and  the  dear 
ones  from  whom  they  had  parted  for  they  knew 
not  how  long;  and,  when  boys  are  thinking  deeply 
of  such  things,  they  do  not  like  talking.  But,  gloom 
and  sadness  cannot  long  conquer  the  spirits  of  any 
normal  boy ;  and,  at  the  end  of  an  hour's  riding  they 
were  their  own  lively  and  talkative  selves  again. 

"I  wonder  if  we  can  make  our  old  camping- 
ground  to-night?"  Thure  questioned  doubtfully,  as 
they  came  to  a  halt,  a  little  before  noon,  on  the  top  of 
a  steep  ridge  to  give  their  horses  a  short  rest.  "If 
I  remember  right,  this  ridge  is  not  nearly  half-way 
to  the  place  where  dad  and  I  always  camped  when 
we  went  to  Sutter's  Fort;  and  it  must  be  nearly  noon 
now,"  and  he  glanced  upward  at  the  sun,  which  was 
fast  nearing  the  zenith.  "Say,  but  these  old  pack- 
horses  are  as  slow  as  oxen.  I  wonder  if  we  can't 
do  something  to  hurry  them  up  ?" 

"We've  got  to  make  the  old  camping-ground  to 
night,  if  it  takes  us  till  midnight,"  Bud  answered 
emphatically.  "That  is,  we've  got  to,  if  we  expect 


The  Sign  of  the  Two  Red  Thumbs        65 

to  get  to  Sacramento  City  to-morrow;  and  that's 
where  I,  for  one,  expect  to  be  sometime  to-morrow 
night.  I  reckon,  we'll  have  to  drive  them  pack- 
horses  in  front  of  us  and  use  the  whip  a  little/' 

"A  bully  idea,"  Thure  agreed.  "I  wonder  why 
we  did  not  think  of  it  before.  Here,  you  old  slow 
poke,  get  up  I"  and,  whirling  his  horse  around,  he 
suddenly  rode  up  behind  his  pack-horse  and  gave 
that  animal  a  quick  blow  with  his  whip. 

The  scheme  worked  splendidly;  and  the  two  boys 
were  soon  on  their  way  again  and  moving  at  a  con 
siderably  increased  speed.  But,  notwithstanding 
their  accelerated  motion,  it  was  not  until  some  three 
hours  after  sunset  that  the  two  tired  boys  and  the 
four  tired  horses  reached  the  old  camping-grounds, 
where  there  was  an  abundance  of  water  for  them 
selves  and  horses  and  fuel  for  the  camp-fire. 

"Well,  I  swun  I  am  tired!"  Thure  exclaimed,  as 
he  threw  himself  down  with  a  sigh  of  satisfaction 
on  his  blanket  before  the  camp-fire,  when,  at  last, 
the  horses  had  been  unsaddled  and  unbridled  and 
unpacked  and  picketed  where  they  could  feed  on  the 
rich  grass,  and  the  two  boys  had  eaten  their  rude 
meal  of  broiled  venison — they  had  shot  a  young  deer 
on  their  way — and  homemade  bread,  washed  down 
by  a  huge  tin  cup  full  of  coffee  of  their  own  brewing. 

"I  reckon  you  are  not  the  only  tired  boy  in  this 
camp  to-night,"  and  Bud  spread  out  his  blanket  on 
the  ground  by  the  side  of  Thure's  and  stretched 
himself  out  on  it.  "Every  bone  and  muscle  in  my 


66  The  Cave  of  Gold 

body  has  been  just  a-teasing  me  for  the  last  two 
hours  to  let  up  and  give  them  a  rest.  Well,  we  got 
here  anyhow;  and  I  guess  we  can  now  make  Sacra 
mento  City  all  right  to-morrow  night.  Say/'  and 
he  sat  up  on  his  blanket  with  a  jerk  at  the  thought 
that  had  suddenly  come  to  him,  "do  you  suppose 
those  two  villains,  who  robbed  and  killed  the  old 
miner,  have  found  out  that  we  have  the  skin  map 
that  they  committed  murder  in  vain  to  get  ?  If  they 
have,  I  reckon  we'll  have  to  be  on  the  lookout  for 
them  good  and  sharp.  Why,  they  might  be  on  our 
trail  even  now !" 

"You  are  right,"  and  Thure  sat  up  quickly. 
"But  I  can't  see  just  how  they  could  know  that  we 
have  the  map.  They  certainly  didn't  wait  for  in 
troductions  when  we  charged  down  upon  them ;  and 
I  don't  believe  they  followed  us  home — they  were 
too  scart,  the  cowards !  But,  as  Kit  Carson  says : 
'The  time  to  be  cautious  is  before  the  Indians  get 
your  scalp — not  afterwards.'  I  reckon  that  means 
that  we've  got  to  keep  guard  to-night;  and  I  don't 
believe  I  ever  felt  more  sleepy,"  and  Thure  sighed. 
"But,  if  Brokennose  and  Pockface  should  happen  to 
be  on  our  trail,  they  couldn't  ask  for  anything  bet 
ter  than  to  get  us  two  here  alone  and  asleep  to-night. 
They  sure  would  have  the  skin  map  in  the  morning, 
and,  probably,  our  horses  and  supplies,  and,  possibly, 
our  lives.  Say,  but  I  just  would  like  to  meet  them 
two  cowards  when  I  am  awake !"  and  Thure's  eyes 
glinted  wrathfully. 


The  Sign  of  the  Two  Red  Thumbs        67 

"Well,  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  we  had  that 
pleasure  before  long,"  and  Bud's  face  hardened. 
"If  the  old  miner  told  them  of  the  Cave  of  Gold  and 
the  skin  map,  and  he  said  he  did,  they  sure  will  be 
on  the  lookout  for  the  party  with  the  map;  and  it 
wouldn't  take  much  inquiring  for  them  to  find  out 
that  it  was  us  that  brought  the  dead  miner  home; 
and  then,  I  reckon,  it  won't  take  them  two  minutes 
to  guess  what  started  us  so  sudden-like  for  the  mines. 
I  sure  hope  they  won't  find  us  until  we  get  to  our 
dads  and  Rex  and  Dill  and  Hammer  Jones.  I'd  feel 
safe  enough  then.  You  see,  we  are  guarding  not 
only  our  lives,  but  also  the  Cave  of  Gold;  and  the 
finding  of  that  cave  means  a  lot  to  all  of  us/' 

"It  sure  does/'  Thure  agreed.  "Luck  has  been 
against  both  of  our  dads  lately;  and,  well,  we've 
just  got  to  find  that  Cave  of  Gold ;  and  we  are  going 
to  find  it,  in  spite  of  all  the  broken  noses  and  pock 
marked  faces  in  the  world.  But,  it  won't  do  to  sit 
here  talking  all  night.  We  must  get  all  the  sleep 
we  can.  Who  will  stand  guard  first  ?" 

"I  will/'  Bud  answered,  picking  up  his  rifle  and 
rising;  "so  get  into  your  blanket  and  asleep  as  quick 
as  you  can.  It  must  be  almost  midnight  now." 

"All  right,"  and  Thure  began  rolling  himself  up 
in  his  blanket.  "Wake  me  in  about  two  hours,  and 
I'll  stand  guard  the  rest  of  the  night.  We  want  to 
be  on  our  way  as  soon  as  it  is  light  enough  to  see. 
Good  night,"  and  in  five  minutes  Thure  was  as  dead 
to  his  surroundings  as  the  log  near  which  he  lay. 


68  The  Cave  of  Gold 

Bud  picked  up  his  blanket  and  moved  off  into  the 
dark  shadows  of  the  low-hanging  branches  of  an 
evergreen  oak  and  out  of  the  light  of  the  camp-fire, 
where  he  could  watch,  seeing  but  unseen. 

The  night  had  grown  dark  and  cool — all  California 
nights  are  chilly;  and  Bud  wrapped  his  blanket 
around  him  and,  leaning  up  against  the  trunk  of  the 
tree,  looked  out  into  the  darkness  surrounding  the 
lone  camp-fire.  In  the  distance  a  coyote  was  mak 
ing  the  night  hideous  with  his  demoniacal  howlings. 
From  a  near  tree  came  the  lonesome  hoot  of  an  owl. 
All  else  was  still,  save  from  all  around  came  the  mys 
terious  sounds  of  the  wilderness  at  night,  suggestive 
of  the  low  whisperings  and  talking  of  uneasy  spirits. 

But  all  this  was  commonplace  to  Bud.  He  had 
often  spent  the  night  out  in  the  open,  had  often  stood 
guard  by  a  lonely  camp-fire,  when  darkness  was  all 
around  and  only  the  weird  voices  of  the  night  were 
heard;  and  he  gave  little  thought  to  these  things. 
He  was  very  tired  and  very  sleepy  and  it  took  about 
all  the  thought  power  he  had  to  compel  himself  to 
Stay  awake. 

An  hour  past.  There  had  not  been  a  suspicious 
sound  nor  movement;  and  Bud  began  to  feel  more 
secure,  began  to  relax  some  of  his  vigilance,  began 
to  close  his  eyes  now  and  then  for  a  brief  moment, 
began  to  lean  more  comfortably  against  the  trunk 
of  the  tree — then,  suddenly,  he  straightened  himself 
up  with  a  jerk,  his  eyes  wide  open,  his  cocked  rifle 


The  Sign  of  the  Two  Red  Thumbs        69 

held  ready  for  instant  use.  Sure  he  had  heard  a 
sound,  a  sound  that  did  not  belong  to  the  night,  a 
thud  like  the  fall  of  some  heavy  body  on  soft  ground, 
and  coming  from  the  direction  of  the  camp-fire! 
For  a  moment  he  stared,  tense  with  excitement, 
toward  the  camp-fire,  now  glowing  dully ;  but  he  saw 
nothing  unusual,  heard  nothing  unusual.  Thure 
still  lay  by  the  side  of  the  log,  his  form  showing 
faintly  in  the  dull  light.  The  horses  were  grazing 
quietly — he  could  just  distinguish  their  forms 
through  the  darkness.  They  showed  no  alarm. 

"Queer!  I  certainly  heard  something  fall;  and 
right  near !  Well,  I  reckon  I  had  better  make  sure 
that  everything  is  all  right  with  Thure,"  and  Bud 
very  cautiously  stepped  out  from  the  shadows  of  the 
tree  and,  moving  softly,  crept  up  to  where  Thure  lay. 
His  deep  regular  breathing  told  him  that  he  was 
sound  asleep  and  that  all  was  well  with  him. 

"Must  have  been  dreaming,"  he  muttered  in  dis 
gust,  and  returned  to  his  station  under  the  tree ;  but 
he  did  not  close  his  eyes  again. 

There  were  no  other  suspicious  sounds  during  the 
remainder  of  his  watch,  nor  during  the  watch  of 
Thure ;  and  the  dawning  of  morning  found  both  boys 
and  all  their  belongings  safe  and  sound. 

"Did  you  see  or  hear  anything  suspicious  during 
your  watch?"  was  Bud's  first  query,  when  Thure 
awoke  him  the  next  morning. 

"No.    Why?"  answered  Thure.     "Did  you?" 


70  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"Well,  I— I  don't  know/'  and  Bud  jumped  to  his 
feet  and  began  looking  sharply  around  over  the 
ground  near  the  camp-fire. 

Suddenly  he  uttered  an  exclamation  and,  bending 
quickly  down,  picked  up  a  large  flat  stone  that  was 
lying  between  the  log,  near  which  Thure  had  slept, 
and  the  camp-fire. 

"I — I  don't  remember  of  seeing  this  stone  here  last 
night/'  and  he  turned  it  over  curiously;  and  then 
uttered  another  exclamation  that  brought  Thure  to 
his  side  on  the  jump. 

The  stone  was  flat,  some  three  inches  thick,  nearly 
round,  and,  possibly,  a  foot  in  diameter.  One  side 
was  nearly  white  and  smooth;  and  the  astonished 
eyes  of  the  boys  read,  rudely  written  on  this  side,  evi 
dently  with  a  piece  of  charred  coal,  these  ominous 
words : 

LEVE  THE  MAP  TO  THE  MINERS  CAVE 
UNDER  THIS  STON  NEAR  YOUR  CAMP 
FIRE  WHEN  YOU  BRAKE  CAMP  IN  THE 
MORNING  AND  NEVER  TELL  NOBODY 
WHAT  THE  MINER  TOLD  YOU  ABOUT 
THE  CAVE— OR  WELL  GIT  YOU  THE 
SAME  AS  WE  GOT  THE  MINER— LIFE  IS 
WURTH  MOREN  GOLD  AND  YOULL 
NEVER  LIVE  TO  GIT  THE  GOLD. 

Under  these  words  were  the  red  prints  of  two 
thumbs — one  the  mark  of  a  huge  thumb  and  the 
other  the  mark  of  a  much  smaller  thumb — as  if  their 
owners  had  covered  their  thumbs  with  blood  and 


The  Sign  of  the  Two  Red  Thumbs         71 

then  pressed  them  against  the  stone,  in  lieu  of  sig 
natures. 

For  a  full  two  minutes  the  two  boys  stood  staring 
at  these  words,  their  faces  whitening  and  their  eyes 
widening. 

"How — how  did  this  get  here?"  Thure  was  the 
first  to  speak. 

For  answer  Bud  leaped  to  the  log,  by  the  side  of 
which  Thure  had  slept,  and,  bending  over  it,  looked 
closely  at  the  ground  on  the  other  side. 

"Right  from  behind  this  log!"  he  exclaimed,  after 
a  moment's  scrutiny  of  the  ground.  "The  fellow 
that  threw  that  stone  crept  up  behind  this  log  and 
then  got  up  on  his  knees  and  tossed  the  rock  to  where 
we  found  it.  You  can  still  see  the  prints  of  his 
knees  and  toes  in  the  ground.  I  thought  I  heard  a 
sound  like  the  fall  of  something  heavy  during  my 
watch ;  but  I  was  half  asleep  when  I  heard  it,"  and 
Bud's  face  flushed  a  little ;  "and  when  I  couldn't  see 
anything  suspicious  or  find  anything  suspicious  or 
hear  any  more  suspicious  sounds,  I  concluded  I  had 
only  fancied  I  had  heard  the  sound.  But  that  is  sure 
no  fancy,"  and  his  eyes  glared  at  the  stone,  which 
Thure  still  held. 

"And  I  was  sound  asleep  right  on  the  other  side 
of  that  log  at  that  very  moment!"  and  Thure's 
weather-bronzed  face  whitened  a  little.  "No  more 
logs  for  bedfellows  for  me !" 

"Yes,  and  he  must  have  been  lying  right  on  the 
other  side  of  that  log,  when  I  bent  over  you  to  see 


72  The  Cave  of  Gold 

if  you  were  all  right/'  added  Bud.  "If  I'd  been  only 
smart  enough  to  look,  it  might  have  saved  us  from 
a  lot  of  trouble/'  and  Bud's  lips  tightened  grimly. 

"Better  as  it  is,"  Thure  declared.  "Now,  we've 
had  our  warning  and  nobody  hurt ;  but,  if  you  had 
discovered  the  fellow  behind  the  log,  they'd  have  got 
you,  sure,  and,  probably,  me,  too.  Both  were  doubt 
less  on  hand;  and  would  have  shot  you  before  you 
could  have  done  anything,  if  you  had  discovered  one 
of  them.  Now,  I  reckon,  if  they  had  found  the  camp 
unguarded,  they  were  intending  to  have  a  try  for 
the  map  then  and  there — and  they  would  have  got  it ! 
Well,  what  do  you  think  about  doing  as  they  ask, 
and  leaving  the  map  under  the  stone?  It  seems 
from  what  that  stone  says — " 

"What!"  and  Bud  turned  in  astonishment  to 
Thure.  "Give  up  that  map  to  a  couple  of  the  big 
gest  cowards  and  cut-throats  in  California?  I'd 
sooner  give  them  every  drop  of  blood  in  my  body. 
I—" 

"Well,  you  need  not  get  so  rambunctuous  over  it/' 
laughed  Thure.  "But,"  and  his  face  sobered,  "I 
reckon  that  that  there  is  no  idle  threat,"  and  he 
pointed  to  the  flat  stone,  which  now  lay  on  the 
ground  at  his  feet;  "and  I  fancy  the  sooner  we  get 
to  our  dads  the  better  it  will  be  for  us.  Not  that  I'd 
be  afraid  of  those  two  skunks,"  he  added  hastily,  "if 
they'd  come  out  in  the  open,  where  one  could  see 
them ;  but  I  do  not  care  for  any  more  creeping  upon 
a  fellow  in  the  dark,  when  he's  asleep,"  and  he 


The  Sign  of  the  Two  Red  Thumbs        73 

glanced  shudderingly  toward  the  log.  "But,  there 
is  no  use  of  talking  any  more  about  it.  Let's  get 
busy.  We  must  make  Sacramento  City  to-night 


sure." 


In  a  very  short  time  breakfast  was  eaten,  the 
horses  saddled  and  bridled  and  packed,  and  the  two 
boys  ready  to  mount  and  to  start  on  their  way  again. 

"Now,  for  our  answer  to  that  there  message,"  and 
Thure  picked  up  the  flat  stone  and  dropped  it  into 
the  camp-fire.  "I  reckon  that  will  tell  them  what 
we  think  of  their  threat ;  and  that  we're  too  old  to  be 
scart  like  little  school  boys,"  and  he  sprang  on  the 
back  of  his  horse.  "Now  for  Sacramento  City!" 
and  the  two  boys,  with  watchful  eyes  glancing  all 
around  them,  resumed  their  lonely  journey  toward 
the  new  city  on  the  Sacramento. 


CHAPTER  VII 

CAUGHT    IN    THE   FLOOD 

IN  July,  1849,  the  tide  of  gold-seekers  had  not  yet 
set  in  at  its  greatest  flow.  It  was  too  early  in 
the  year  for  the  thousands  of  emigrants  coming 
across  the  plains  and  the  mountains  to  the  east  or 
for  those  journeying  by  ship  from  the  more  distant 
parts  of  the  world  to  have  reached  the  Eldorado  of 
their  golden  hopes;  but  from  every  inhabited  part 
of  California  and  the  region  to  the  north,  from 
Mexico  and  the  Pacific  coast  southward  and  from 
the  nearer  islands  of  the  Pacific  a  constant  stream  of 
gold-seekers  had  been  flowing  into  the  gold  regions 
for  nearly  a  year.  Those  coming  by  ship  landed  at 
San  Francisco;  and  from  there  reembarked  in 
smaller  boats  and  were  carried  up  the  Sacramento 
River  to  Sacramento  City,  the  nearest  point  to  the 
mines  reached  by  boat,  or  made  the  journey  over 
land  on  horseback,  or  with  mule-  or  horse-  or  oxen- 
drawn  wagons,  or  even  on  foot.  Many  of  the  Mexi 
cans  and  a  few  of  the  South  Americans  came  over 
land,  while  nearly  all  of  those  coming  from  Oregon 
territory,  whither  many  emigrants  had  gone  from 
the  States  during  the  past  few  years,  made  the  jour 
ney  southward  to  Sacramento  City  the  same  way 

74 


Caught  in  the  Flood  75 

they  had  crossed  the  great  plains  and  the  mountains, 
when  they  had  sought  new  homes  in  the  Great 
Northwest  a  few  years  before — that  is,  by  way  of 
the  prairie-schooner,  afoot  and  on  horseback,  trav 
eling  in  small  companies  for  mutual  protection. 

All  of  these  different  streams  of  inflowing  gold- 
seekers  were  too  far  south  for  Thure  and  Bud  to 
strike  until  they  were  nearly  to  Sacramento  City, 
except  that  from  Oregon,  flowing  from  the  north ; 
and  they  hardly  expected  to  find  this  stream  still 
flowing,  since  those  regions  were  supposed  to  have 
been  already  drained  of  all  their  gold-seeking  in 
habitants.  But,  hardly  had  they  ridden  an  hour  on 
their  way  that  morning,  when,  on  coming  to  the  top 
of  a  low  ridge  of  hills  and  looking  down  into  the 
valley  beyond,  they  saw  half  a  dozen  white-topped 
wagons,  accompanied  by  a  number  of  men,  some  on 
horseback  and  some  afoot,  a  couple  of  miles  ahead 
of  them  and  about  to  pass  over  another  ridge  of  hills. 

"Hurrah !"  yelled  Thure,  at  sight  of  the  wagons 
and  the  men.  "I'll  bet  a  coon  skin  that  they  are 
bound  for  Sacramento  City  and  the  gold-diggings, 
too.  Come,  let's  hurry  up  our  horses  and  see  if  we 
can't  overtake  them.  I'll  feel  a  lot  safer  when  we're 
in  with  that  crowd,"  and  his  keen  eyes  glanced 
swiftly  over  the  valley  in  front  of  them.  "There 
are  too  many  places  along  this  trail,  where  them 
skunks  could  hide  and  shoot  us  without  our  getting  a 
shot  back  at  them,  to  suit  me.  But  they  will  hardly 
venture  to  take  a  shot  at  us,  while  we  are  with  a 


76  The  Cave  of  Gold 

crowd  of  armed  men  like  that.  Hurrah!  Come 
on!"  and,  striking  his  pack-horse  with  his  whip, 
Thure  hurried  on  down  the  hill. 

A  couple  of  hours  later  the  two  boys  overtook  the 
slower-moving  train  of  wagons;  and  were  given  a 
hearty  welcome  by  the  gaunt,  roughly  dressed  and 
rougher-looking  men,  who,  as  they  had  surmised, 
were  bound  for  the  gold-mines. 

Thure,  as  they  joined  the  little  company  of  pro 
spective  miners,  turned  and  looked  backward,  just  in 
time  to  see  two  horsemen  appear  on  the  brow  of  a 
'distant  hill,  halt  their  horses  and  sit  staring  in  their 
direction  for  a  couple  of  minutes ;  and  then,  wheel 
ing  their  horses  about  disappear  down  the  other  side 
of  the  hill. 

"Queer !"  thought  Thure.  "I  should  think  they'd 
be  only  too  glad  to  join  us,  unless,"  and  his  heart 
gave  a  jump  at  the  thought,  "unless  they  were 
Brokennose  and  Pockface  following  on  our  trail! 
I  wonder — " 

But  here  the  men  of  the  wagon-train,  gathering 
excitedly  about  him  and  all  eagerly  asking  questions, 
drove  all  further  thoughts  of  the  two  solitary  horse 
men  out  of  his  head. 

There  were  fifteen  men,  two  women,  and  three 
children — a  girl  of  fourteen  and  two  boys  thirteen 
years  old — in  the  company ;  and  all  had  come  from 
the  great  wilderness  to  the  north,  whither  they  had 
gone  from  the  States  some  three  years  before. 
They  had  been  traveling  for  many  days  southward, 


Caught  in  the  Flood  7£ 

through  a  wilderness  inhabited  only  by  wild  beasts 
and  Indians,  without  seeing  a  human  being,  except 
a  few  Indians,  although  they  had  passed  a  number 
of  deserted  ranches  on  their  way  down  the  Sacra 
mento  Valley,  until  Thure  and  Bud  rode  into  their 
midst.  All  the  men  were  armed  with  long-barreled 
rifles,  huge  knives,  and  some  of  them,  in  addition, 
carried  a  pistol  or  a  revolver.  They  were  dressed 
for  the  most  part  in  deerskins  and  their  hair  and 
beards  had  grown  so  long,  that  only  their  bright 
eyes  and  bronzed  noses  and  gleaming  white  teeth, 
when  they  smiled  or  opened  their  mouths,  were 
visible.  All  the  other  features  of  their  faces  were 
hidden  behind  matted  locks  of  hair.  The  faces  of 
the  women  and  the  children  had  been  browned  by 
the  sun,  until  they  were  nearly  of  the  color  of  In 
dians,  and  their  clothing  was  soiled  and  worn;  but 
all  were  clear-eyed  and  looked  as  if  they  did  not 
know  what  a  bodily  ache  or  pain  was. 

Thure  and  Bud  were  too  familiar  with  this  type 
of  wilderness  manhood  to  be  worried  in  the  least  over 
their  rough  looks  and  dress.  They  knew  something 
of  the  real  men  that  usually  dwelt  within  these  rough 
exteriors — the  men  who  hewed  the  way  for  civiliza 
tion  through  the  wilderness,  the  men  of  the  rifle,  the 
trap,  and  the  ax,  strong  and  sturdy  and  as  gnarled 
and  knotted  as  the  oaks  of  their  own  forests,  yet  as 
true  to  a  friend  or  to  the  right  as  they  saw  it,  as 
the  balls  in  their  rifles  were  to  their  sights — and 
neither  boy  hesitated  an  instant  to  accept  their  in- 


78  The  Cave  of  Gold 

vitation  to  "jog  along"  with  them  to  Sacramento 
City. 

For  a  few  minutes  the  whole  company  halted  and 
crowded  excitedly  around  Thure  and  Bud.  They 
had  heard  no  news  of  the  world  outside  of  their 
little  company  for  many  days ;  and  they  were  espe 
cially  anxious  to  hear  the  latest  news  from  the  dig 
gings. 

"Sure  th'  gold  ain't  petered  out  yit?"  queried  one 
of  the  men  anxiously. 

"No,"  answered  Thure,  smiling.  "According  to 
dad's  last  letter  they  were  discovering  new  diggings 
almost  every  day  and  all  the  old  diggings  were  still 
panning  out  well.  Why,  he  wrote  that  the  fellow 
who  had  the  claim  right  next  to  his  claim  had  found 
a  pocket  the  day  before,  out  of  which  he  had  taken 
in  one  day  one  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  gold  nug 
gets!" 

"Say,  young  man,"  and  a  great,  huge-boned,  lank 
man  crowded  eagerly  up  to  Thure's  side,  "jest  say 
them  words  over  ag'in;  an'  say  'em  loud,  so  that 
Sal  can  hear.  She's  bin  callin'  me  a  fool  regular 
'bout  every  hour  since  we  started  for  th'  diggin's. 
Says  she'll  eat  all  th'  gold  I  find  an'  won't  have  no 
stumick-ake  neither.  Now,  listen,  Sal,"  and  he 
turned  excitedly  to  one  of  the  two  women,  who  stood 
together  on  the  outskirts  of  the  little  crowd  of  men 
around  Thure  and  Bud.  "Jest  listen  tew  what  this 
boy's  own  dad  rit  home,"  and  again  he  turned  his 
eager  eyes  on  Thure's  face. 


Caught  in  the  Flood  79 

Thure  laughed  and  repeated,  in  a  louder  voice,  the 
story  of  the  miner's  good  luck. 

"Did  you  hear  that,  Sal?"  and  again  the  big  man 
turned  excitedly  to  the  woman.  "One  Thousand 
Dollars'  wurth  of  gold  nuggets  picked  right  up  out 
of  a  hole  in  th'  ground  in  one  day!  Gosh,  that's 
more  gold  than  we  ever  seed  in  our  lives !  An'  he 
found  it  all  in  one  day!  Good  lord!  in  ten  days 
he'd  have  Ten  Thousand  Dollars !  An'  in  one  hun 
dred  days  he'd  have  One  Hundred  Thousand  Dol 
lars  !"  he  almost  shouted. 

"Well,  what  if  he  did  have  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars!  What  good  would  that  do  you?  That's 
what  I'd  like  tew  know,  Tim  Perkins  ?  He'd  have 
th'  gold,  not  you,  wouldn't  he?"  and  the  woman 
turned  a  thin  care-worn  face  to  her  big  husband. 

"But,"  and  the  big  fellow's  eyes  fairly  shone  with 
enthusiasm,  "can't  you  see,  Sal,  that  that  proves  that 
th'  gold  is  thar;  an',  th'  gold  bein'  thar,  I  stand  as 
good  a  chance  as  anybody  else  of  runnin'  ontew  a 
pocket  like  that.  Good  lord,  a  Thousand  Dollars  in 
One  Day !  Think  of  what  that  would  mean  tew  us, 
Sal!  Edication  for  th'  boy  an'  gal,  a  comfortable 
home  for  us  as  long  as  we  live !  If  we  could  only 
have  sech  luck!  An'  I've  bin  dreamin'  of  findin' 
gold  almost  every  night  since  we  hooked  up  an' 
started  for  th'  diggin's !" 

"An'  your  dreamin'  always  comes  true!"  replied 
Mrs.  Perkins  scornfully.  "Well,  I've  only  got  this 
tew  say,  an',  if  I've  sed  it  onct,  I've  sed  it  a  hundred 


8o  The  Cave  of  Gold 

times,  this  is  our  last  wild-goose  chasin'  trip.  You'll 
settle  down  for  keeps,  th'  next  time  you  settle  down, 
Tim  Perkins,  gold  or  no  gold;  or  you'll  do  your 
chasin'  alone,"  and  she  turned  and  climbed  back 
into  one  of  the  wagons,  not  at  all  moved  by  her  big 
husband's  enthusiasm. 

"Sal's  some  downhearted,"  the  big  fellow  ex 
plained  to  Thure,  "  'cause  things  ain't  turned  out  for 
us  like  we  expected  since  comin'  tew  Oregon.  But," 
and  his  face  lighted  up  again,  "jest  wait  till  I  make 
my  strike  in  th'  diggings  an'  nuthin'  '11  be  tew  good 
for  her  an'  th'  yunks." 

"Do  you  reckon  we  can  make  Sacramento  City 
tew-night  ?"  here  broke  in  one  of  the  men  anxiously. 
"We  was  a  calculatin'  that  we  might." 

"Yes,"  answered  Thure,  "if  you  are  willing  to 
travel  late;  but  you'll  have  to  hustle  to  do  it." 

"Then  we'll  hustle,"  declared  the  man,  who  ap 
peared  to  be  the  captain  of  the  little  company. 
"Everybody  who  wants  tew  git  to  Sacramento  City 
tew-night  git  a-goin',"  he  shouted.  "Th'  gold 
Stories'll  keep  till  we  git  thar,"  and  he  hurried  away 
to  his  own  wagon,  which  was  in  the  van ;  and  soon, 
with  much  loud  shouting  and  the  cracking  of  the 
long  lashes  of  whips,  the  little  train  of  wagons  was 
again  in  motion. 

Thure  and  Bud  fell  in  at  once  by  the  side  of  the 
leader,  who,  learning  that  they  were  familiar  with 
the  trail  to  Sacramento  City,  had  asked  them  to  act 
as  guides. 


Caught  in  the  Flood  81 

All  the  wagons  were  drawn  by  big  raw-boned  and 
long-legged  mules ;  and  the  two  boys  soon  found  that 
they  had  to  use  their  whips  freely  on  their  sturdy 
little  pack-horses  in  order  to  hold  their  places  in  the 
train. 

All  day  long  they  pressed  steadily  forward,  as 
fast  as  mule  legs  could  drag  the  heavy  wagons ;  and, 
a  little  before  night,  they  struck  the  northern  trail 
from  San  Francisco  to  Sacramento  City,  now  a  well- 
traveled  road.  Here,  for  the  first  time,  Thure  and 
Bud  began  to  get  something  of  an  idea  of  what  the 
rush  to  the  gold-mines  was  like.  There  were  some 
twenty-five  wagons,  a  hundred  or  more  horsemen, 
and  many  men  on  foot  in  sight  of  their  eyes,  when 
their  wagons  swung  around  a  small  hill  and  on  to 
the  trail,  now  hardened  into  a  road  by  the  thou 
sands  of  wheels  and  hoofs  that  had  recently  passed 
over  it;  and  all  were  hurrying  forward,  as  if  they 
were  fearful  they  would  be  too  late  to  reap  any  of 
the  golden  harvest. 

"Great  buffaloes !"  and  Tim  Perkins  turned  anx 
iously  to  Thure,  by  whose  side  he  was  riding,  "dew 
you  reckon  all  them  folks  are  bound  for  the  dig- 
gin's  ?" 

"Yes,"  answered  Thure.  "Can't  you  see  that 
everyone  is  armed  with  a  pick  and  shovel  and  gold- 
pan  ?  Why,  even  the  men  on  foot  are  lugging  picks 
and  shovels  and  gold-pans  on  their  backs !" 

"An',"  continued  Tim,  the  anxious  look  on  his 
face  deepening,  "dew  you  reckon  they've  bin  a-tear- 


82  The  Cave  of  Gold 

in'  over  th'  trail  tew  th'  diggings  like  this  for  long; 
or  is  this  jest  a  stampede  we  have  struck?" 

"A  ship  has  probably  landed  at  San  Francisco 
lately/'  Thure  replied;  "and  these  are  some  of  the 
gold-seekers  who  came  in  it.  But  I  don't  think 
from  what  I  have  heard  that  what  we  are  seeing  is 
an  unusual  sight  along  this  trail.  They've  been 
rushing  to  the  mines  like  a  herd  of  stampeding  cattle 
for  months." 

"Gosh!  I'm  afeard  they'll  find  all  th'  gold  afore 
we  git  thar!  If  'twon't  for  Sal  an'  th'  yunks  I'd 
hurry  on  ahead.  Dang  it,  if  I  was  only  thar  right 
now  I  might  be  discoverin'  a  pocket  full  of  gold, 
like  that  miner  aside  your  dad  did,  at  this  identical 
moment!  Hi,  thar,  Jud,"  and  he  turned  his  eyes 
glowing  with  excitement  to  the  face  of  the  train- 
captain,  "let's  see  if  we  can't  git  ahead  of  some  of 
this  tarnel  crowd ;  or  they'll  be  a-landin'  on  all  the 
good  spots  afore  we  git  thar." 

"Now,  jest  keep  a  tight  rein  on  your  hosses, 
Perkins,"  grinned  Jud  Smith,  the  leader  of  the  little 
company  of  Oregon  gold-seekers ;  "an'  rekerleck  th' 
old  sayin'  'th'  more  haste  th'  less  speed.'  But," 
and  an  uneasy  look  came  into  his  own  eyes,  "it  sure 
does  look  like  all  creation  had  started  for  th'  dig- 
gin's.  See,  they're  still  a-comin'  as  far  back  as  th' 
eyes  can  reach !  I  reckon  we  had  better  try  an'  hit 
up  a  leetle  livelier  gait.  G'lang,  thar,  you  long- 
eared  repteels !"  and  the  long  lash  of  his  whip  hissed 


Caught  in  the  Flood  83 

through  the  air  and  cracked,  like  the  report  of  a 
pistol,  over  the  heads  of  his  leading  mules. 

Indeed,  it  seemed  to  be  impossible  for  even  the 
sanest  of  men  to  mingle  long  with  a  crowd  of  hur 
rying  gold-seekers  and  think  of  what  they  were 
hurrying  for,  and  not  catch  the  fever  of  unreason 
ing  haste.  The  thought  that  they  might  be  too 
late,  that  each  moment  they  might  be  missing  a 
golden  opportunity  by  not  being  on  the  spot,  seemed 
to  obsess  all  minds ;  and  the  nearer  they  got  to  the 
gold-fields  the  greater  became  this  excitement  and 
hurry,  until  it  degenerated  into  little  more  than  a 
wild  stampede  of  gold-mad  men. 

And  no  wonder!  for  the  nearer  they  got  to  the 
mines  the  bigger  the  stories  seemed  to  grow  of  the 
wonderful  gold  finds  that  were  being  made.  Nay, 
more  than  this!  They  now  sometimes  actually 
saw  the  gold  and  actually  met  the  men  who  had 
found  it,  as  they  were  returning  to  the  comforts 
and  pleasures  of  civilization,  actually  burdened 
down  with  the  weight  of  the  precious  metal  they 
were  carrying!  And,  what  if  all  this  gold  should 
all  be  dug  up  before  they  got  to  the  mines!  The 
thought  was  enough  to  put  the  fever  of  haste  into 
the  blood  of  any  man. 

The  knowledge  of  having  the  skin  map  and  the 
thought  of  the  Cave  of  Gold  to  which  it  pointed 
the  way,  did  not  keep  Thure  and  Bud  from  feeling 
this  excitement,  this  wild  desire  to  hurry,  as  their 


84  The  Cave  of  Gold 

little  company  swung  into  line  on  the  trail  and 
rushed  madly  on  with  the  rest.  True  the  skin  map 
and  the  gold  nugget,  still  in  the  miner's  buckskin 
bag,  hung,  safely  hidden,  under  the  armpit  of 
Thure's  left  shoulder;  but  the  old  miner  himself 
had  found  the  Cave  of  Gold,  and,  if  he  had  found 
it,  why  might  not  some  other  man  find  it?  That 
was  the  disturbing  thought  that  had  troubled  the 
two  boys  all  along;  and  now,  when  they  began  to 
realize  how  great  was  the  flood  of  gold-seekers 
constantly  pouring  into  the  mining  regions  and 
how  their  keen  eyes  would  be  searching  everywhere, 
their  anxiety  to  get  to  their  fathers  as  quickly  as 
possible  grew  apace,  until  they  were  almost  as 
eager  to  reach  the  mines  as  was  Tim  Perkins  him 
self;  and,  by  a  constant  urging  of  their  pack- 
horses,  managed  to  keep  their  places  with  Jud  Smith 
and  his  company. 

However,  in  spite  of  all  their  hurrying,  it  was 
after  nine  o'clock  at  night  and  dark  before  they 
reached  the  west  bank  of  the  Sacramento  River  op 
posite  Sacramento  City.  Here  they  found  a 
hundred  wagons  and  many  animals  and  men  ahead 
of  them,  waiting  to  be  ferried  across  the  river ;  and, 
to  their  very  great  disappointment,  they  were 
obliged  to  wait  until  the  next  morning  before  cross 
ing  over  to  Sacramento  City. 

"Well,  we  are  within  sight  of  Sacramento  City 
anyhow,"  declared  Thure,  when  Jud  Smith  re 
turned  from  the  ferry  with  the  news  that  they  would 


Caught  in  the  Flood  85 

be  obliged  to  camp  on  that  side  of  the  river  for  the 
night;  "and,  I  reckon,  it  is  just  as  well  that  we  don't 
cross  over  to-night.  I'll  feel  just  a  little  better  en 
tering  a  town  like  that  in  the  clear  light  of  day," 
and  his  eyes  looked  in  astonishment  and  wonder 
across  the  dark  waters  of  the  river  to  where  the 
myriad  lights  of  Sacramento  City  shone  along  the 
opposite  bank. 

The  last  time  Thure  had  stood  where  he  was 
now  standing,  only  a  little  over  a  year  ago,  and 
looked  across  the  Sacramento  River,  not  a  sign  of 
a  human  habitation  was  in  sight  where  now  shone 
the  thousands  of  lights  of  a  busy  city ! 

"Isn't  it  a  wonderful  sight !"  exclaimed  Bud,  as  the 
two  boys  stood  a  little  later  on  the  river  bank,  star 
ing,  with  fascinated  eyes,  across  the  water.  "Looks 
more  like  a  dream-city,  or  a  scene  in  fairyland,  than 
it  does  like  a  real  town  inhabited  by  real  people." 

And  Bud  was  right.  It  was  a  marvelous  sight 
that  the  two  boys  were  looking  at,  a  sight  the  like 
of  which,  probably,  no  human  eye  will  ever  look 
upon  again. 

Along  the  river  bank  for  a  mile  or  more  and 
stretching  back  from  the  water's  edge  up  the  slope 
of  the  low-lying  hills,  glowed  and  sparkled  a  city  of 
tents,  pitched  in  the  midst  of  a  virgin  forest  of  huge 
oak  and  sycamore  trees.  It  is  impossible  for  words 
to  convey  to  the  mind  the  mystic  charm  of  this  won 
derful  city  of  light,  when  seen  by  night  across  the 
dark  waters  of  the  river.  Nearly  all  the  houses 


86  The  Cave  of  Gold 

were  but  rude  frames  walled  with  canvas,  or  merely 
tents ;  and,  in  the  darkness,  the  lights  within  trans 
formed  these  into  dwellings  of  solid  light,  that 
glowed  in  rows  along  the  river  front,  their  lights 
reflected  in  the  water,  and  straggled  in  glowing 
rows  of  light  up  the  hillsides  and  underneath  the 
dark  overhanging  branches  of  great  trees,  while 
here  and  there  through  the  general  glow  shone  out 
brilliant  points  of  light,  the  decoy-lamps  of  the  gam 
bling-houses  and  the  saloons.  And,  for  a  back 
ground  to  all  this,  the  shadowy  darkness  of  the  sur 
rounding  night! 

Thure  and  Bud  were  very  tired;  but  they  stood 
for  many  minutes  looking  on  this  wondrous  and 
fairylike  scene,  half  expecting  to  see  it  all  vanish 
instantly  at  the  wave  of  some  magician's  wand,  be 
fore  they  turned  to  prepare  for  the  night.  On  their 
way  back  to  camp  and  just  as  they  were  passing  a 
large  camp-fire,  they  met  two  horsemen  riding  down 
toward  the  ferry. 

"No  crossing  to-night !"  called  out  Thure. 

The  two  horsemen  turned  their  faces  in  their  di 
rection;  and  both  boys  started,  for,  by  the  light  of 
the  camp-fire,  they  saw  that  one  of  the  men  was 
large  and  the  other  was  small  and  that  the  nose  of 
the  large  man  had  been  broken,  and  then  the  dark 
ness  hid  their  faces  from  their  sight,  as  the  two 
horsemen  hurried  on  without  uttering  a  word  in 
reply. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ACCUSED  OF  MURDER 

HTHERE  were  no  laggards  in  the  camp  on  the 
*  west  side  of  the  Sacramento  River  the  next 
morning.  Long  before  sun-up  a  line  of  wagons 
and  animals  and  men  stood  waiting  at  the  ferry, 
ready  to  be  carried  across  the  river;  and  among  the 
first  of  these  were  our  anxious  young  friends,  Thure 
and  Bud.  They  had  pushed  on  ahead  of  their  fel 
low  travelers  of  the  day  before,  the  little  company 
of  Oregon  gold-seekers,  who  had  been  delayed  in 
getting  into  the  line  on  account  of  their  wagons, 
and  were  fortunate  enough  to  get  near  the  ferry; 
and,  just  as  the  first  rays  of  the  morning's  sun 
looked  down  on  the  novel  and  interesting  scene,  they 
led  their  animals  on  board  the  ferry-boat. 

The  boat  was  jammed  with  men  and  wagons 
and  horses  and  mules  and  oxen.  The  men  were 
all  talking  excitedly  of  the  mines,  the  animals  were 
frightened  and  restless — indeed,  all  living  beings 
seemed  to  breathe  in  excitement  and  restlessness 
and  anxiety  out  of  the  very  air,  with  every  breath 
they  drew  into  their  bodies. 

"Glory  be!"  commented  Bud,  as  his  eyes  looked 
over  the  motley  gathering  of  men  that  crowded 


88  The  Cave  of  Gold 

every  available  spot  on  the  boat,  "but  this  is  a 
queer-looking  lot  of  men  to  see  in  the  wilds  of  Cali 
fornia!  Looks  like  every  nation  in  the  world  was 
represented  right  here  in  this  one  boat  load  and 
sounds  like  the  confusion  of  tongues  at  the  tower 
of  Babel  There  sure  has  got  to  be  a  lot  of  gold, 
if  everybody  gets  a  share !"  and  his  face  clouded. 
"Say,  but  this  boat  is  slow !"  and  he  turned  his  im 
patient  eyes  toward  the  shore,  where,  in  the  garish 
light  of  day,  the  city  of  canvas  seemed  real  enough, 
but  not  a  whit  less  wonderful,  only  in  an  entirely 
different  way,  than  had  the  magic  city  of  light  the 
night  before. 

A  forest  of  masts  grew  from  a  multitude  of  boats 
strung  along  the  river  front,  and  stood  out  in  strik 
ing  contrast  against  the  leaved  branches  of  the 
trees  on  the  shore.  The  boats  were  moored  to 
strong  trunks  and  huge  sinewy  roots;  and  the 
larger  number  of  them  turned  out  "to  grass,"  that 
is,  leased  as  shops  and  dwelling  houses.  Sign 
boards  and  figure-heads  from  the  boats  were  set 
up  along  the  shore,  facing  the  levee;  and  back  of 
them,  up  the  gentle  slopes  of  the  hills  lying  between 
the  Sacramento  and  the  American  Rivers,  for  the 
town  was  built  at  the  junction  of  these  two  rivers, 
ran  the  streets  of  this  novel  city,  lined  with  their 
odd-looking  canvas  houses  and  tents.  Great  for 
est-trees,  some  of  them  six  feet  in  diameter,  towered 
here  and  there  above  the  houses  and  the  streets, 
their  huge  column-like  trunks  and  outspreading 


Accused  of  Murder  89 

boughs,  clothed  with  green  leaves,  adding  the 
needed  touch  of  romanticism  to  complete  the  unique 
picturesqueness  of  the  scene.  Everywhere  was 
bustle  and  excitement.  Men  were  hurrying  in  and 
out  of  the  doors  of  the  shops  and  of  the  saloons  and 
up  and  down  the  streets.  Drivers  were  shouting 
and  cursing  at  their  horses,  mules,  or  oxen;  whips 
were  cracking;  and  wheels  were  rumbling  and 
creaking.  Parties  of  miners  here  and  there,  with 
loud  shouts  of  farewell,  were  starting  off  for  the 
mines,  loaded  down  with  pickaxes  and  shovels,  with 
gold-pans  and  frying-pans,  and  other  equipments 
of  the  rude  camp-life  they  were  preparing  to  live. 
Sun-up,  everybody  up,  seemed  to  be  the  motto  of  all 
Sacramento  City. 

Into  the  midst  of  this  wild  hurly-burly  Thure  and 
Bud  plunged  directly  from  the  ferry-boat.  At  first 
they  hardly  knew  what  to  do  with  themselves  and 
horses.  Never  had  they  been  in  a  scene  of  such 
excitement  and  confusion  before.  It  fairly  made 
their  heads  whirl;  but,  boy-like,  they  enjoyed  every 
bit  of  it,  as,  with  their  keen  young  eyes  glancing 
in  every  direction,  they  rode,  holding  their  fright 
ened  pack-horses  close  to  their  sides,  slowly  up  what 
seemed  to  be  the  main  street  of  the  city. 

"Say,"  and  Bud  pointed  to  a  large  sign  on  the 
front  of  one  of  the  few  frame  buildings,  which  read 
"City  Hotel,"  "that  looks  like  a  place  to  eat.  Let's 
tie  our  horses  outside  and  go  in  and  get  our  break 
fast.  I'm  as  hungry  as  a  bear ;  and — and — well  we 


90  The  Cave  of  Gold 

can  talk  over  what  we  had  better  do  next  while  we 
are  eating.  Glory  be,  I  did  not  suppose  Sacramento 
City  was  like  this !"  and  he  grinned. 

The  boys  had  been  in  too  much  of  a  hurry  to  get 
across  the  river  to  stop  to  prepare  their  own  break 
fast  that  morning,  consequently  Thure  at  once  wel 
comed  Bud's  suggestion;  and,  jumping  off  their 
horses,  the  two  lads  tied  their  animals  to  near-by 
trees  and  walked  into  the  City  Hotel,  bravely  trying 
to  look  and  act  as  if  they  were  accustomed  to  living 
at  hotels  all  their  lives,  although,  to  tell  the  truth, 
neither  boy  had  even  seen  a  hotel  before  for  ten 
years. 

They  found  the  dining-room  and  seats  at  one  of 
the  tables  without  much  difficulty;  and  after  some 
little  study  of  the  bill-of-fare,  during  which  they 
forgot  to  look  at  the  prices,  they  gave  their  order 
to  the  waiter — God  save  the  mark !  no,  to  the  stew 
ard  ;  for  there  the  word  "waiter,"  was  never  used, 
it  not  being  considered  a  sufficiently  respectable  call 
ing  for  a  man  who  a  few  months  before  might  have 
been  a  lawyer,  a  doctor,  a  merchant,  or  even  a  min 
ister.  The  food  was  soon  set  before  them;  and,  as 
they  ate,  they  talked  over  the  situation. 

'The  first  thing  for  us  to  do,"  declared  Thure, 
"is  to  find  some  miners  bound  for  Hangtown,  and 
then  make  arrangements  to  go  with  them ;  and  the 
only  way  to  do  this  is  to  start  out  and  ask  everyone 
who  looks  as  if  he  was  going  to  the  diggings,  if  he 
is  going  to  Hangtown,  or  knows  of  anyone  who  is. 


Accused  of  Murder  91 

I  reckon  it  won't  take  us  long  to  find  someone ;  and, 
if  possible,  we  want  to  get  on  our  way  to-day/* 

Bud  promptly  sanctioned  this  plan;  and,  accord 
ingly,  it  was  agreed  that,  as  soon  as  they  finished 
their  breakfast,  they  would  start  out  to  find  some 
one  bound  for  Hangtown. 

"I'll  pay  the  bill,"  magnanimously  announced 
Thure,  when  the  last  morsel  of  food  and  the  last 
swallow  of  coffee  had  vanished  down  their  throats, 
and  he  turned  to  the  smiling  steward. 

The  steward  wrote  for  a  minute  or  so  on  a  little 
pad  of  paper;  and  then,  tearing  off  a  sheet,  handed 
it  to  Thure.  It  was  the  bill  for  their  breakfast  and 
read: 

4  fried  eggs $6.00 

I  leg  of  mutton  (with  potatoes) 2.25 

1  leg  of  veal  (with  potatoes) 2.25 

2  cups  of  coffee  (with  milk) 1.50 

Bread  (with  butter)  for  two 2.00 

2  pieces  of  pie 1.50 

Total $15.50 

"Great  Moses !"  and  Thure  stared  in  the  utmost 
astonishment  at  the  piece  of  paper  he  held  in  his 
hand,  "does  this  mean  that  we  are  to  pay  Fifteen 
Dollars  and  a  Half  for  what  we  have  just  eaten?" 

"Yes,"  smiled  the  steward,  who  had  evidently 
been  a  lawyer  before  he  became  a  steward,  "fifteen 
dollars  and  fifty  cents  is  all.  Eggs  and  butter  came 
down  a  little  to-day;  and  we  always  give  our  patrons 


92  The  Cave  of  Gold 

the  benefit  of  a  fall  in  prices  at  once.  You  will  see 
that  your  bill  is  correct  by  glancing  at  the  prices  on 
the  bill-of-f  are." 

Thure  transferred  his  stare,  for  a  moment,  to  the 
face  of  the  smiling  steward;  and  then,  picking  up 
the  bill-of-fare,  he  saw  that  the  prices  were  correct, 
and  paid  the  bill. 

"I  see  that  you  have  already  found  your  gold 
mine,"  he  remarked,  as  he  handed  the  cashier  the 
money. 

"And  without  digging  in  mud  and  gravel  for  the 
gold,"  the  cashier  replied,  with  a  grin  and  a  wink. 
"But,  there  is  not  as  much  gold  in  it  as  you  might 
think.  Now,  how  much  do  you  suppose  those  eggs 
cost  me  a  dozen?"  and  he  pointed  to  the  egg  item 
on  the  bill-of-fare. 

"Never  sold  any,"  smiled  back  Thure.  "We  al 
ways  gave  them  away." 

"Huh !  I'll  take  a  car  load  at  that  price.  Now, 
them  identical  eggs  that  you  ate  this  morning  cost 
me  at  the  rate  of  Thirteen  Dollars  and  Seventy-five 
cents  a  dozen,  wholesale !  I  reckon  you  are  new  to 
the  diggings,  or  you  would  know  that  prices  on 
everything  have  gone  soaring  up  like  skyrockets," 
and  the  cashier,  who  happened  also  to  be  the  pro 
prietor,  threw  up  both  hands  despairingly  toward 
the  ceiling.  "Say,  what  do  you  suppose  I  have  to 
pay  the  fellow  who  washes  the  dishes?  Seventy- 
five  Dollars  a  week  and  keep !  And  the  cook,  Mother 
of  men !  he  gets  One  Hundred  and  Eighty-five  Dol- 


Accused  of  Murder  93 

lars  a  week !  Got  to  pay  it,  or  they'll  go  to  the  dig 
gings." 

"Excuse  me,"  broke  in  Bud,  who  at  this  moment 
suddenly  thought  that  no  one  would  be  apt  to  know 
more  about  the  goings  and  the  .comings  of  the  min 
ers,  than  the  hotelkeeper  himself.  "But,  do  you 
happen  to  know  of  any  miners  in  town  who  are 
going  to  Hangtown?  We  expect  to  find  our  dads 
there ;  and  want  to  get  away  from  here  as  soon  as 
we  can." 

"Now,"  and  the  broad  forehead  wrinkled,  "let  me 
think.  Sure !"  and  the  wrinkles  vanished.  "Yan 
kee  Tom  and  his  company  were  to  start  for  Hang- 
town  this  morning;  and,  I  reckon,  if  you  hustle,  you 
can  yet  get  to  them  before  they  start.  You  see — " 

"Where'll  we  find  them?"  broke  in  Thure  eagerly. 
He  was  too  anxious  to  be  off  to  care  to  listen  longer 
to  the  talkative  landlord. 

"See  that  big  sycamore  over  yonder?"  and  the 
landlord  pointed  through  the  open  door  to  where 
a  giant  tree  lifted  its  head  far  above  its  surround 
ings. 

"Yes." 

"Well,  Yankee  Tom's  camp  is  under  that  tree. 
Just  head  for  that  tree,  and  you  will  sure  hit  his 
camp,  if  he  is  still  there;  but  you'd  better  hustle," 
and  the  landlord  turned  to  attend  to  other  guests. 

Thure  and  Bud  at  once  hurried  out  to  where  they 
had  left  their  horses;  and  were  soon  mounted  and 
hastening  toward  the  big  tree.  Their  route,  for  a 


94  The  Cave  of  Gold 

short  distance,  lay  through  a  very  busy  street,  with 
shops  of  all  kinds  and  innumerable  gambling — and 
drinking-hells  on  both  sides.  Great  crowds  of  men 
were  hurrying  in  and  out  of  these  places;  and  the 
street  was  so  jammed  with  wagons  and  horses  and 
mules  and  oxen  and  men  that  Thure  and  Bud  found 
considerable  difficulty  in  making  their  way  through 
it. 

"No  more  hotel  eating  for  me,"  declared  Thure, 
with  a  grimace,  as  they  made  their  way  as  speedily 
as  possible  through  this  crowded  street.  "A  Dollar 
and  a  Half  for  an  Egg !  But  won't  mother's  eyes 
open  when  she  hears  that?" 

"Well,  eggs  are  not  the  only  things  that  are  high. 
Just  look  at  that  sign  there/'  and  Bud  pointed  to  a 
large  sign  in  front  of  one  of  the  stores,  on  which 
the  storekeeper  had  recorded  the  day's  bargains. 
The  sign  read  : 

THE  BEST  AND  THE  CHEAPEST  PLACE 

TO  BUY  YOUR  OUTFITS 
A  FEW  OF  TO-DAY'S  SPECIAL  BARGAINS 
THAT  CANT  BE  BEAT  ANY 
WHERE  IN  THE  CITY 

Best  flour  ten  pounds  for  only $15.00 

Rice,  five  pounds  for  only 5.00 

Potatoes,  a  heaped-up  bushel,  only. .     35.00 

Good  butter  only 2.00  per  pound 

Barley  only i.oo  per  quart 

Best  white  beans  only 6.50     " 

Candles  only i.oo  each. 


Accused  of  Murder  95 

Best  Salaratus  only $  14.50  per  pound 

Hip  boots,  warranted  waterproof. .   100.00 
Pair  of  pantaloons,  good  quality...     36.00 

Sugar — good — only 2.00  per  pound 

Coffee,  five  pounds  for 9.00 

Good  picks,  shovels,  tin-pans  at  only     57.00  each. 

"Whew !"  and  Thure  drew  in  a  long  breath,  when 
he  had  finished  reading  the  sign.  "It's  lucky  we 
brought  our  outfits  along  with  us,  or  we'd  be  bank 
rupt  before  we  could  get  out  of  Sacramento  City. 
Well,  those  prices  certainly  prove  that  the  gold  is 
here.  Nobody  could  live  if  it  wasn't.  And,  when 
you  stop  to  think  that  most  of  the  stuff  has  to  be 
brought  thousands  of  miles  and  then  packed  for 
some  two  hundred  miles  more  into  a  roadless  wilder 
ness,  the  prices  don't  look  so  high — Well,  what's 
the  rumpus  now  ?"  and  Thure  whirled  partly  around 
on  his  horse  to  look  back  to  where  a  huge  red-headed 
man  had  suddenly  jumped  up  on  top  of  a  barrel  in 
front  of  one  of  the  stores,  and  was  yelling  some 
thing,  just  what  he  could  not  understand,  and  point 
ing  excitedly  in  his  direction. 

A  sound,  like  a  growl  from  the  throats  of  a  hun 
dred  angry  wolves,  went  up  from  the  surrounding 
crowd,  and  a  great  wave,  headed  by  the  red-headed 
man,  rolled  threateningly  toward  the  two  wonder 
ing  boys. 

"What— what  can  be  the  trouble?"  and  Bud 
turned  an  anxious  face  to  Thure.  "They  look  mad ; 


96  The  Cave  of  Gold 

and  they  are  coming  straight  toward  us!  What 
can  have  happened?  Who  are  they  after?"  and  he 
looked  confusedly  around. 

"Pull  them  off  their  horses !" 

"Hang  them!" 

"The  murderers!" 

The  air  was  now  filled  with  these  and  similar 
dreadful  cries  and  men  came  running  toward  them 
from  all  directions;  and,  before  the  two  boys  could 
fairly  realize  what  was  happening,  they  found  them 
selves  the  center  of  a  seething  crowd  of  excited  and 
angry  men,  while  a  hundred  armed  hands  were  lifted 
threateningly  toward  them. 

"God  in  heaven,  they  are  after  us!"  and  Thure, 
too  utterly  astounded  for  the  moment  to  realize  the 
terrible  nature  of  their  situation,  stared  wildly  into 
the  surrounding  angry  faces.  "What — what — " 

But,  before  he  could  put  his  stammering  dumb 
founded  query,  strong  hands  seized  and  jerked  him 
roughly  from  his  horse,  while  other  hands  at  the 
same  moment  jerked  Bud  off  his  horse.  One  of  the 
men  who  seized  and  pulled  Thure  from  his  horse 
was  the  big  red-headed  man,  who  had  jumped  up  on 
top  of  the  barrel  and  who  had  led  the  rush  against 
the  two  boys.  The  moment  Thure  looked  into  his 
face  he  started  back  in  horror.  The  man  had  a 
broken  nose ! 

At  this  moment  and  before  either  boy  had  col 
lected  his  startled  wits  sufficiently  to  even  offer  a  pro 
test  or  to  demand  what  this  rough  laying  on  of 


Accused  of  Murder  97, 

hands  meant,  a  big  man  drove,  like  a  sharpened 
wedge,  through  the  crowd,  and  halted,  with  a  hand 
tightly  gripping  the  coat  collar  of  each  terrified  lad. 

"What  is  the  trouble?"  he  demanded  authorita 
tively.  "What  have  the  young  men  done  ?" 

"The  sheriff !"  yelled  someone  in  the  crowd.  "It's 
Turner,  the  sheriff!" 

"Yes,  it's  Turner,  the  sheriff,"  and  the  man  tight 
ened  his  grips  on  Thure's  and  Bud's  collars. 
"Hands  off.  They  are  my  prisoners  now,"  and  he 
turned  a  bit  impatiently  to  the  men,  whose  hands 
still  had  hold  of  the  boys.  "Well,  what  have  they 
done?" 

"Murder!"  "Murder!"  yelled  a  dozen  voices 
from  the  crowd. 

"Why,  they  are  little  more  than  boys !"  and  the 
sheriff  turned  his  eyes  in  astonished  horror  on 
Thure  and  Bud.  "Who  accuses  them?" 

"Me  an'  my  pard  do,"  and  the  big  red-headed 
man  with  a  broken  nose,  who  had  let  go  of  Thure 
the  moment  the  sheriff  had  him  safely  by  the  col 
lar,  stepped  up  in  front  of  Turner.  "We  accuses 
them  of  murderin'  an'  robbin'  John  Stackpole,  an 
old  miner,  who  was  on  his  way  tew  San  Francisco 
from  th'  diggin's;  an'  what's  more,  we  saw  'em 
do  it  with  our  own  eyes;  an'  are  ready  tew  swear 
tew  th'  same  afore  any  judge  an'  jury.  Ain't  we 
Spike?"  and  he  turned  to  a  small  man,  with  a  pock 
marked  face,  who  was  standing  close  to  Bud. 

"True  as  preachin',"  declared  the  small  man. 


98  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"With  my  own  eyes  I  saw  'em  knock  th'  miner  off 
his  hoss  with  their  guns,  an'  then  jump  on  him, 
an'  run  a  knife  through  his  heart,  an'  jerk  off  his 
gold-belt,  an'—" 

"You  lie!"  and  the  hard  fist  of  Bud's  sturdy  right 
arm  landed  squarely  on  the  chin  of  the  man,  with 
such  force  that  he  was  knocked  backward,  sense 
less,  into  the  arms  of  a  man  standing  behind  him. 
"You  and  Brokennose  killed  him  yourselves. 
iWe— " 

"Shut  up!"  and  the  sheriff  whirled  Bud  violently 
around  in  front  of  him.  "Now,  young  man,  an 
other  move  like  that  and  I  will  put  you  in  irons. 
Here,  Dave,"  and  he  turned  to  a  roughly  dressed 
miner  standing  near,  "just  pull  their  teeth,  while 
I  hold  them.  They're  beginning  to  look  some  ram- 
bunctuous." 

And,  indeed,  Thure  and  Bud  did  look  "rambunc- 
tuous" ;  for  by  now  both  boys  were  beginning  to  get 
an  inkling  of  the  game  that  was  being  played  on 
them  by  the  two  scoundrels.  But,  what  could  they 
do?  Everything  had  happened  so  suddenly  and 
unexpectedly,  that  they  were  in  the  hands  of  the 
[sheriff  before  either  of  them  had  recovered  his  wits 
sufficiently  to  even  open  his  mouth  in  protest  or  de 
fense. 

"Quiet,  quiet,"  cautioned  the  roughly  dressed 
miner,  whom  the  sheriff  had  summoned  to  his  aid, 
in  a  low  voice,  as  he  swiftly  pulled  the  boys'  knives 
and  pistols  from  their  belts.  "Don't  let  your  tern- 


Accused  of  Murder  99 

pers  git  tew  buckin'.  You're  a  sight  better  off  in 
th'  hands  of  th'  sheriff,  who  will  see  that  you  git  a 
fair  trial,  than  you  would  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
mob,  who  sometimes  string  a  feller  up  first  an'  try 
him  afterwards." 

Thure  and  Bud  promptly  saw  the  wisdom  of  this 
counsel  and  allowed  the  miner  to  disarm  them  with 
out  protest. 

"Now,  Dave,  I'll  make  you  my  deputy  until  this 
little  matter  is  settled.  Bring  along  the  animals 
and  I'll  see  that  these  two  young — "  The  sheriff 
paused  and  looked  curiously  into  the  faces  of  Thure 
and  Bud.  "I'll  be  hanged,  if  you  look  much  like 
murderers  1"  he  declared  frankly.  "Howsomever,  I 
am  not  the  judge ;  and  you  can't  always  tell  whether 
or  not  a  dog  has  got  fleas  by  his  looks." 

"We  are  innocent,  absolutely  innocent,"  began 
Thure  excitedly.  "We  did  not  kill  the  old  miner. 
We—" 

"Save  your  talk,"  broke  in  the  sheriff  good-na 
turedly,  glancing  sharply  into  the  boy's  face,  "for 
the  trial.  I'll  see  that  you  get  a  fair  trial ;  and  that's 
all  that  I  can  do.  Now,  you  two  men  that  make 
this  accusation  of  murder  against  the  prisoners, 
come  along,"  and  he  glanced  keenly  at  the  two  men. 

Brokennose  still  stood  near  Thure;  and  the  one 
called  Spike  had  recovered  sufficiently  from  his  con 
tact  with  Bud's  fist  to  stand  glaring  at  Bud,  with 
an  ugly  scowl  on  his  pock-marked  face. 

"Where  are  you  goin'  tew  take  'em?"  he  de- 


loo  The  Cave  of  Gold 

manded.  "This  ain't  no  jail  case.  [We  wants 
them  tried  immejiate.  Thar  ain't  no  need  of  law 
yers  an'  jedges  tew  mix  things  up.  We  seed  'em 
kill  th'  miner,  an'  are  willin'  tew  swear  tew  it,  an' 
that  otter  be  enough  tew  have  'em  danglin'  by  their 
necks  inside  of  half  an  hour." 

'They'll  dangle,  when  they've  been  proven  guilty, 
according  to  the  laws  of  this  city;  and  not  before/' 
answered  the  sheriff  dryly.  "We'd  give  a  dog  a 
fair  trial  in  this  town  before  we'd  hang  him.  Come, 
you  can  tell  your  stories  to  the  alcalde,"  and,  still 
keeping  a  tight  grip  on  the  collars  of  Thure  and 
Bud,  he  started  down  the  street  toward  the  office  of 
the  alcalde,  before  whom  all  criminal  cases  were 
tried,  followed  by  Dave,  the  miner,  with  the  horses 
of  the  boys,  their  two  accusers,  and  the  crowd,  which 
had  made  no  move  to  dispute  the  authority  of  the 
'sheriff,  although  a  little  growling  had  been  done. 
They  knew  that  they  would  not  have  long  to  wait. 
California  justice  in  those  days  in  the  mining  towns 
and  camps  was  sudden. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  TESTIMONY  OF  BILL  UGGER 

O  ACRAMENTO  CITY  at  that  date  had  a  rude 
*^  but  effective  government  of  its  own.  An  alcalde 
and  other  city  officers  had  been  elected;  and  cer 
tain  unwritten  laws,  for  the  protection  of  life  and 
property,  had  been  promulgated  and  were  strictly 
enforced.  Lynching,  in  the  sense  that  we  know  it 
to-day,  was  almost  unknown.  There  were  no  dis 
orderly  mobs,  who,  under  the  spurs  of  their  own 
brutal  passions,  strung  up  their  victims  unheard 
and  without  even  the  semblance  of  a  fair  trial.  Jus 
tice,  if  sudden,  was  usually  careful  to  see  that  it  was 
justice  and  not  brutality  that  rendered  the  ver 
dict.  And  yet,  many  of  these  early  trials  had  the 
outward  semblance  of  lynching-bees  in  the  swift 
severity  of  their  punishments.  A  murderer  would 
be  arrested,  tried,  convicted,  and  decently  hanged, 
all  before  sundown  of  the  same  day.  The  mob 
spirit  was  there,  but  usually  held  in  check  by  the 
sturdy  manhood  of  the  American  miners,  who  had 
nearly  all  come  from  law  abiding  and  law  respect 
ing  communities. 

This  swift  severity  of  Justice  was,  in  a  sense, 
compelled  by  the  unusual,  the  almost  unprecedented 

101 


IO2  The  Cave  of  Gold 

conditions  surrounding  life  in  a  city  born  suddenly 
in  a  wilderness.  There  were  few  locks  and  bars 
and  bolts,  or,  even,  doors,  in  Sacramento  City  at 
that  time ;  and  large  sums  in  gold  and  great  values 
in  goods  were  often  left  exposed  and  almost  unpro 
tected.  The  thief,  under  such  circumstances,  had 
to  be  dealt  with  severely  and  promptly ;  or  the  prop 
erty  of  no  one  would  be  safe.  There  were  no  reg 
ularly  established  courts  in  the  city  to  try  criminals, 
no  written  code  of  laws  to  dictate  methods  of  pro 
cedure,  no  court  officials  to  enforce  mandates,  and 
no  safe  jails  in  which  to  confine  prisoners.  Un 
der  such  circumstances  the  people  had  to  form  their 
own  courts,  make  their  own  laws,  and  see  that  they 
were  enforced;  or  have  no  laws;  and  the  criminal 
had  to  be  dealt  with  summarily.  The  thief  was 
sometimes  whipped,  or,  even,  cropped,  that  is  his 
ears  were  cut  off,  and  he  was  always  driven  from 
the  city,  and  warned  not  to  come  back  under  penalty 
of  death.  The  murderer,  when  proven  guilty  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  people,  was  always  hanged. 
No  prisoners  were  held.  They  were  proven  guilty 
and  sentence  pronounced  and  executed  at  once;  or 
they  were  set  free. 

Such  was  Sacramento  City  in  1849,  the  Sacra 
mento  City  in  which  Thure  and  Bud  now  found 
themselves  under  arrest  for  the  horrible  crime  of 
murder,  the  most  serious  crime  that  can  be  charged 
against  a  human  being  anywhere,  but  rendered  es 
pecially  serious  in  the  present  case  by  the  peculiar 


The  Testimony  of  Bill  Ugger  103 

surrounding  circumstances.  In  all  the  city,  so  far 
as  either  boy  knew,  they  did  not  have  a  friend,  or 
even  an  acquaintance,  who  could  vouch  for  them — 
and  yet,  before  the  sun  set  that  night,  they  must 
prove  themselves  innocent  of  the  crime  charged,  or, 
in  all  human  probability,  be  hanged ! 

The  alcalde's  office  was  small,  only  a  few  of  the 
great  crowd  of  men  who  had  followed  the  sheriff 
and  his  prisoners  could  get  inside  of  it ;  and,  when 
the  alcalde  saw  the  size  of  the  gathering  outside  of 
his  office  and  learned  the  serious  nature  of  the 
charge  against  the  two  boys,  he  at  once  ordered 
the  "court"  to  be  held  under  the  big  oak  in  the 
horse-market,  where  there  would  be  room  for  all  to 
see  and  hear  how  justice  was  dispensed.  Accord 
ingly  all  started  at  once  for  the  horse-market,  situ 
ated  near  the  bottom  of  K  Street,  where  an  immense 
evergreen  oak  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  street, 
furnishing  an  agreeable  shade  for  many  feet  around 
and  a  fittingly  picturesque  scene  for  the  holding  of 
such  a  trial  as  was  about  to  take  place. 

The  method  of  procedure,  on  arriving  at  the 
horse-market,  was  simple  but  effective.  The  al 
calde  took  his  station  near  the  trunk  of  the  great 
oak,  and  summoned  the  prisoners  and  their  accusers 
before  him,  while  the  crowd  gathered  in  a  grim  and 
stern-faced  circle  around  this  improvised  court 
room. 

"What  is  the  crime  the  prisoners  are  charged 
with?"  and  the  alcalde  turned  to  the  sheriff. 


IO4  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"Murder !"  answered  the  sheriff  briefly. 

"Who  makes  the  accusation?" 

"Those  two  men  standing  there/'  and  the  sheriff 
indicated  the  big  red-headed  man  with  the  broken 
nose  and  the  small  man  with  the  pock-marked  face, 
who  now  stood  just  behind  the  sheriff  and  his  two 
prisoners. 

"Stand  forth  by  the  side  of  the  prisoners/'  com 
manded  the  alcalde. 

The  two  men  shuffled  awkwardly  forward  and 
stood  uneasily  by  the  side  of  Thure  and  Bud,  their 
eyes  shifting  restlessly  from  the  face  of  the  alcalde 
to  the  faces  of  the  surrounding  crowd. 

For  a  couple  or  more  minutes  the  alcalde  studied 
the  faces  of  the  two  boys  and  the  faces  of  their  two 
accusers  in  silence.  Evidently  he  was  endeavoring 
to  form  an  opinion  of  the  characters  of  the  prison 
ers  and  their  accusers ;  but,  what  that  opinion  was, 
his  face  did  not  betray. 

"Why  do  you  accuse  these  two  young  men  of  mur 
der?"  and  the  alcalde  suddenly  fixed  his  eyes  upon 
the  face  of  the  man  with  a  broken  nose. 

"Because  I  seen  'em  do  it,"  answered  the  man. 
"Me  an'  my  pard,  Spike,  seen  'em  do  it.  Ask  him," 
and  he  turned  to  the  small  man,  who  stood  close  by 
his  side. 

"And  you  are  both  willing  to  make  oath  that  you 
saw  these  two  young  men,  who  are  little  more  than 
boys,  commit  the  awful  crime  of  murder?"  the  al 
calde  continued. 


The  Testimony  of  Bill  Ugger  105 

"Yes,"  promptly  responded  both  men. 

"Then,  may  God  have  mercy  on  your  souls,  if  the 
accusations  are  false !  What  have  you  to  say  to  the 
accusation  ?  Guilty ;  or,  not  guilty  ?"  and  the  alcalde 
turned  abruptly  to  Thure  and  Bud. 

"Not  guilty/'  answered  Thure,  his  face  very 
white.  "We—" 

"That  will  do  for  the  present,"  interrupted  the 
alcalde.  "Gentlemen,  how  shall  the  case  be  tried?" 
and  he  turned  to  the  surrounding  crowd  of  stern- 
ffaced  men. 

"Give  "em  a  jury,  an'  git  a-goin',"  called  a  rough 
voice  impatiently. 

"Do  you  wish  a  trial  by  jury?"  and  again  the 
alcalde  turned  to  Thure  and  Bud. 

"Yes,"  answered  both  boys. 

"The  trial  will  be  by  jury,"  announced  the  alcalde. 
"I  summon  to  act  as  this  jury,"  and  his  eyes 
searched  the  circle  of  surrounding  faces,  as  he 
slowly  called  out  the  names  of  twelve  men,  who,  as 
their  names  were  called,  stepped  forth  and  took  their 
stations  by  the  side  of  the  alcalde  and  in  front  of  the 
prisoners  and  their  accusers. 

When  the  twelve  jurymen  had  been  selected,  all 
were  solemnly  sworn  by  the  alcalde  to  render  a 
true  and  just  verdict,  according  to  the  evidence  pre 
sented  ;  and  the  trial  of  Thure  and  Bud  for  the  mur 
der  of  John  Stackpole,  the  miner,  was  ready  to 
begin. 

During  all  this  time  Thure  and  Bud  had  been 


io6  The  Cave  of  Gold 

doing  some  very  serious  and  some  very  rapid  think 
ing.  At  first  the  suddenness  and  the  unexpected 
ness  of  the  rush  of  men  upon  them  in  the  busy  street, 
followed  so  swiftly  by  their  arrest  and  the  dreadful 
accusations  of  the  two  men,  whom  they  had  every 
reason  to  believe  had  committed  the  crime  them 
selves,  had  almost  completely  benumbed  their  fac 
ulties  ;  but  this  condition  of  mind  had  lasted  only  a 
short  time,  and  long  before  they  reached  the  place 
of  trial  their  minds  were  busy  with  the  dreadful 
problem  of  how  to  prove  themselves  innocent  of  the 
crime  charged,  when  two  men  were  ready  to  swear 
that  they  saw  them  commit  the  crime,  and  when  they 
did  not  have,  could  not  have,  a  single  witness  who 
could  swear  to  the  truthfulness  of  their  statements 
concerning  the  miner's  death.  No  one  but  them 
selves  had  seen  him  die ;  and,  so  far  as  they  knew,  no 
one  but  themselves  and  their  accusers  knew  the 
cause  of  his  death.  If  they  only  had  time  to  send 
home —  But,  even  if  they  had  witnesses  from 
home,  what  could  they  prove?  Only  that  the  two 
boys  had  brought  the  dead  miner  home  and  had 
buried  him;  and  that  would  be  no  proof  that  they 
had  not  killed  him  and  invented  the  story  of  the  two 
robbers. 

True,  on  their  side,  they  could  accuse  the  two 
men  of  committing  the  murder  themselves ;  but  they 
had  no  positive  proofs  that  they  were  guilty  of  the 
crime,  only  the  description  of  his  assailants  given 
them  by  the  dying  miner.  There  might  be  other 


The  Testimony  of  Bill  Ugger  107 

men  with  broken  noses  and  pock-marked  faces. 
All  that  they  could  swear  to  of  their  own  knowledge 
was  that  one  of  the  men  they  had  seen  murdering 
the  old  miner  was  larger  than  the  other.  They 
had  not  got  near  enough  to  the  murderers  to  be 
able  to  recognize  them  again,  even  if  they  should 
see  them,  except  by  the  description  given  by  the 
murdered  man.  And  for  them  to  accuse  the  two 
men,  who  had  caused  their  arrest,  of  the  murder, 
in  itself  would  look  suspicious  to  those  who  did 
not  know  the  real  facts  and  would  have  a  tendency 
to  make  them  doubt  their  whole  story  of  the  death 
of  the  miner. 

Then  there  was  another  matter  that  troubled  the 
two  boys  greatly.  Why  had  the  two  men  accused 
them  thus  publicly  of  the  murder  of  the  miner? 
Why  had  they  run  this  risk  of  turning  suspicion 
against  themselves?  They  must  feel  very  certain 
that  the  "evidence"  they  would  produce  would  con 
vict;  or,  they  never  would  have  dared  to  have 
chanced  accusing  them  of  the  crime;  for  their  ac 
quittal  would  be  almost  sure  to  turn  suspicion  in 
their  own  direction.  True,  there  was  the  skin  map, 
and,  possibly,  the  accusation  was  some  scheme  to 
get  the  map  into  their  possession;  but,  how  could 
their  hanging  bring  this  about?  If  they  were 
hanged,  the  map  and  its  meaning  would  be  almost 
sure  to  be  made  public;  and  then  every  man  in 
Sacramento  City  would  have  as  good  a  chance  of 
finding  the  Cave  of  Gold  as  would  the  two  scoun- 


io8  The  Cave  of  Gold 

drels  themselves,  a  condition  of  things  that  both 
boys  felt  quite  sure  the  two  men  were  exceedingly 
anxious  to  avoid,  and  the  map  itself  would  be  al 
most  certain  to  be  kept  from  them. 

Then,  again,  the  possession  of  the  skin  map  itself 
was  the  cause  of  the  gravest  anxiety  and  dread.  If 
they  confessed  to  its  possession  it  would  reveal  to 
all  the  secret  of  the  Cave  of  Gold,  something  that 
they  were  almost  ready  to  give  their  lives  to  pre 
vent,  and  would  not  help  their  case  in  the  least. 
Indeed,  under  the  circumstances  it  would,  probably, 
be  considered  the  strongest  possible  circumstantial 
evidence  of  their  guilt. 

But,  what  if  the  alcalde  should  order  them 
searched  and  the  map  be  found?  Or,  what  if  the 
two  men,  becoming  desperate,  should  ask  that  they 
be  searched,  to  see  if  anything  that  belonged  to 
the  miner  could  be  found  in  their  possession,  and 
the  buckskin  bag  and  the  gold  nugget  and  the  skin 
map  should  all  be  discovered  in  their  place  of  con 
cealment  under  Thure's  left  shoulder? 

When  the  two  horns  of  a  dilemma  are  both 
equally  long  and  sharp,  how,  then,  can  the  peril  be 
avoided  ? 

Indeed,  the  longer  and  the  closer  Thure  and  Bud 
looked  at  their  situation,  the  more  dreadful  and  im 
possible  of  remedy  it  appeared.  How  could  they 
prove  their  innocence,  when  they  did  not  have  a 
single  witness  to  appear  in  their  defense?  How 
could  their  youth  and  inexperience,  friendless  and 


The  Testimony  of  Bill  Ugger  109 

alone,  hope  to  combat  successfully  with  the  cunning 
and  the  experience  of  these  two  unprincipled  men, 
who  would  stop  at  nothing  to  accomplish  their  ends  ? 
But,  they  were  not  the  kind  of  boys  to  give  up  a 
fight  for  life,  as  long  as  they  could  strike  back ;  and 
the  more  difficult  their  situation  appeared,  the  more 
grimly  determined  they  became  to  win  out  some 
how,  or,  at  least,  to  die  fighting. 

"Not  a  word  of  the  skin  map  and  the  Cave  of 
Gold/'  hastily  warned  Thure  in  a  whisper  to  Bud, 
as  the  alcalde,  having  completed  the  tale  of  the 
jury,  again  turned  to  them.  "Tell  everything  just 
as  it  happened,  but  that.  The  telling  of  that  would 
not  help  us  a  bit ;  and,  if  it  were  known  that  we  had 
a  map  and  a  gold  nugget  that  had  belonged  to  the 
miner,  it  would  look  suspicious  and  might  hurt  us 
a  lot;  and  we  don't  want  to  give  away  the  Cave  of 
Gold,  not  if  we  can  help  it." 

"Right,"  whispered  back  Bud.  "It's  got  to  be 
our  word  against  the  word  of  those  two  cowardly 
villains,  I  reckon,"  and  he  glared  furiously  in  the 
direction  of  the  two  men.  "We've  just  got  to  beat 
them  some  way,"  and  his  young  face  grew  grim  and 
stern. 

By  this  time  the  jurymen  had  all  seated  them 
selves  comfortably  on  the  ground  on  both  sides  of 
the  alcalde,  and  were  ready  to  hear  the  testimony. 

"You  may  step  forward  and  be  sworn,"  and  the 
alcalde's  eyes  signaled  out  the  big  man  with  a 
broken  nose. 


no  The  Cave  of  Gold 

The  man  stepped  up  in  front  of  the  alcalde,  who 
sat  on  a  stump,  with  a  barrel  standing  on  end  in 
front  of  him  and  an  old  worn  Bible  lying  on  top  of 
the  barrel. 

"Hold  up  your  right  hand/'  commanded  the 
alcalde,  his  keen  eyes  fixing  themselves  sternly  on 
the  red,  brutal  face;  "and  repeat  the  oath  after  me." 

The  man's  right  hand  went  up  with  a  sort  of 
spasmodic  jerk. 

"I  do  solemnly  swear,"  began  the  alcalde  slowly, 
"that  the  testimony  I  am  about  to  give  in  the  case 
now  before  the  court,  shall  be  the  truth,  the  whole 
truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth;  and  may  God 
eternally  damn  my  soul,  if  I  knowingly  utter  a  false 
word." 

Hesitatingly  and  with  a  whitening  face,  the  man 
slowly  repeated  this  oath. 

"Kiss  the  Bible,"  commanded  the  alcalde;  "and 
may  God  blister  the  lips  that  have  touched  His  holy 
book,  if  they  suffer  a  false  word  to  pass  between 
them." 

The  man  hesitated  a  moment:  and  then,  at  a 
muttered  objurgation  from  his  companion,  he  bent 
and  hastily  pressed  his  lips  against  the  cover  of  the 
holy  book. 

"What  is  your  name  and  business?"  In  this 
rude  and  informal  court  the  alcalde  not  only  acted 
as  judge,  but  also  examined  all  witnesses. 

"William  Ugger,  Bill  Ugger,  for  short,"  an 
swered  the  man,  his  eyes  shifting  restlessly  from 


The  Testimony  of  Bill  Ugger  in 

face  to  face  as  he  spoke.  "Me  an'  my  pard  are 
bound  for  th'  diggin's." 

"Now,  remembering  that  you  have  sworn  to 
speak  nothing  but  the  truth  and  that  your  lips  have 
just  kissed  the  holiest  of  books,  you  may  tell  the 
jury  and  the  people  here  assembled  what  you  know 
of  this  alleged  murder  of  the  miner,  John  Stackpole. 
Be  as  brief  as  possible,  please,"  and  the  alcalde's 
eyes,  as  well  as  the  eyes  of  every  man  gathered 
there,  fastened  themselves  on  the  face  of  Bill  Ugger. 

"Wai,"  and  the  shifting  eyes  fixed  themselves 
for  a  few  brief  moments  on  the  ground  in  front  of 
the  big  feet,  "it  happened  like  this.  Me  an'  my 
pard,  Spike,  thar,"  and  he  nodded  toward  his  com 
panion,  "was  on  our  way  from  San  Francisco  tew 
Sacramento  City  an'  th'  diggings  a-hossback. 
Somehow  we  happened  tew  git  off  th'  regular  trail, 
me  an'  Spike  did;  an'  'long  'bout  noon,  three  days 
ago,  we  corned  tew  a  leetle  valley,  with  a  leetle 
stream  of  water  a-runnin'  through  it,  an'  a  string 
of  trees  an'  brush  a-growin'  'longside  th'  water. 
Both  on  us  bein'  tired,  we'd  ben  a-goin'  since  sun-up, 
we  found  a  nice  shady  spot  longside  th'  water, 
an',  tyin'  our  hosses  tew  th'  trees,  both  on  us  laid 
down  for  a  short  snooze.  Course  I  don't  know  how 
long  we'd  ben  a-snoozin',  but,  I  reckon,  'twas  'bout 
a  couple  of  hours,  when  we  was  both  jerked  out 
of  a  sound  sleep  by  a  yell  of  agony  that  sounded 
as  if  it  corned  from  a  man  what  had  ben  struck  a 
mortal  blow.  Nat'rally  that  yell  startled  me  an' 


112  The  Cave  of  Gold 

Spike  sum,  bein'  that  we  both  had  been  sound 
asleep;  an',  maybe,  for  a  minute  we  sot  a-lookin' 
intew  each  other's  eyes,  doin'  nuthin'.  Then  Spike 
says:  'Sounded  human,  Bill.  Like  sumone  had 
got  his/  an'  I  seed  that  he  was  a-shiverin';  for 
'tain't  none  pleasant  tew  be  waked  out  of  a  sound 
sleep  by  th'  death-cry  of  a  human.  'An'  it  sounded 
as  if  it  corned  from  right  ayond  that  leetle  clump 
of  bushes,'  an'  he  pointed  a  shakin'  finger  toward 
a  leetle  clump  of  bushes,  'bout  a  rod  away,  that 
shut  out  our  view  of  th'  valley.  'I  reckon  we'd  bet 
ter  investergate/  an'  we  both  began  a-crawlin' 
toward  that  clump  of  bushes,  not  havin'  heard  no 
more  sounds. 

"Wai,"  and  the  shifty  eyes  shot  swift  glances 
from  the  face  of  the  alcalde  to  the  faces  of  the  jury 
and  the  surrounding  crowd,  to  note  the  effect  of 
his  words,  "when  we  got  tew  them  bushes  an'  looked 
through  'em — "  He  paused  and  laid  a  hand  sol 
emnly  on  the  Bible  lying  on  top  of  the  barrel  in  front 
of  the  alcalde — "so  help  me  God!  this  is  what  we 
saw.  Th'  valley  in  front  of  th'  bushes  was  level  an' 
open,  so  that  we  could  see  clear  'cross  it ;  an',  'bout 
twenty  rods  from  whar  we  was,  we  saw  a  man  strug- 
glin'  violently  on  th'  ground  with  two  other  men 
atop  of  him,  while  three  hosses  stood  a  leetle  ways 
off  a  lookin'  at  'em ;  an',  even  as  we  looked,  we  saw 
one  of  th'  men  flash  a  knife  above  his  head  an' 
plunge  it  down,  an'  th'  man  on  th'  ground  stopped 
strugglin'. 


The  Testimony  of  Bill  Ugger  113 

'This  was  a  leetle  more'n  Spike  an'  I  was  a-willin' 
tew  stand  for,  an'  we  both  jumps  up  out  of  th' 
bushes,  an',  drawin'  our  pistols,  we  had  no  rifles, 
we  yells  an'  starts  for  them  two  men.  Both  on  'em 
jumps  tew  their  feet,  an'  grabs  up  their  rifles,  an', 
afore  you  could  say  Jack,  they  had  th'  both  on  us 
covered,  we  not  bein'  near  enough  tew  use  our  pis 
tols.  But  we  was  close  enough  tew  see  'em  plain; 
an',  afore  God ! — "  The  man  stopped  abruptly  and, 
whirling  suddenly  about,  pointed  a  finger  dramat 
ically  directly  into  the  face  of  Thure — "it  was  that 
young  villain  a-standin'  thar  what  had  his  gun 
a-pointin'  straight  at  me !"  * 

Thure,  in  utter  astonishment,  took  a  quick  step 
backward;  and  then,  suddenly  realizing  what  that 
pointing  finger  meant,  backed  by  those  startling 
words,  he  lost  all  control  of  himself  for  the  moment 
and  leaped  straight  toward  Bill  Ugger. 

"It's  a  lie !  A  lie !"  he  yelled,  as  with  all  his  young 
strength  he  struggled  furiously  with  the  great  bulk 
of  his  antagonist.  But,  before  either  could  do  the 
other  any  harm,  the  strong  hands  of  the  sheriff 
seized  Thure  by  the  shoulders. 

"Here,  you  young  catamount!"  and  he  jerked 
Thure  violently  backward,  and  lifted  the  butt  of  his 
heavy  revolver  threateningly,  while  his  face  hard 
ened.  "Quit  it,  or — "  and  the  heavy  butt  descended 
lightly  on  Thure's  head  by  way  of  warning. 

"But  he  lied !  Every  word  that  he  uttered  was  a 
lie !"  and  tears  of  rage  gathered  in  Thure's  eyes. 


,114  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"Young  man,"  the  alcalde  was  now  standing  on 
his  feet,  all  the  sympathy  gone  from  his  face,  "you 
will  give  me  your  word  of  honor  not  in  any  way 
again  to  do  violence  to  the  decorum  of  this  court 
during  this  trial,  or  I  shall  order  the  sheriff  to  bind 
you  hand  and  foot.  Do  I  have  your  promise?'' 
and  he  fixed  his  eyes  sternly  on  the  white  face 
of  Thure. 

For  a  moment  Thure  stood  silent.  Then  his 
young  face  hardened  and  his  lips  tightened  into  two 
thin  straight  lines.  Reason  again  had  firm  hold  of 
the  helm. 

"I  promise,"  he  answered  quietly;  "and  I  ask  the 
court's  pardon  for  my  violent  action.  But  the  dam 
nable  lies  told  by  that — " 

"That  will  do,"  interrupted  the  alcalde.  "Sheriff, 
if  either  of  the  prisoners  forgets  himself  or  our 
presence  again,  bind  him  hand  and  foot.  Now," 
and  he  turned  to  Bill  Ugger,  who,  as  soon  as  Thure 
had  been  torn  from  him,  had  again  returned  quietly 
to  his  place  before  the  official  barrel,  his  red  face 
flushed  and  his  little  eyes  shining  with  triumph, 
"you  may  go  on  with  your  testimony,  William  Ug 
ger.  You  were  saying  that  you  recognized  one  of 
the  prisoners  as  one  of  the  murderers  and  that  he 
had  you  covered  with  his  rifle.  Remembering  your 
oath  and  comprehending  fully  what  your  dreadful 
accusation  means  to  a  fellow  human  being,  you  still 
swear  that  the  man  who  sprang  up  from  the  pros 
trate  body  and  leveled  his  rifle  at  you  was  this  pris- 


The  Testimony  of  Bill  Ugger  115 

oner?"  and  the  alcalde's  lifted  hand  indicated 
Thure. 

The  interest  of  the  crowd  surrounding  the  court 
had  by  this  time  become  intense.  Men  were  breath 
ing  heavily  and  their  faces  had  hardened  and  an 
ugly  look  had  come  into  their  eyes.  All  now 
stretched  their  heads  forward,  as  they  listened  al 
most  breathlessly  for  the  reply  of  Bill  Ugger. 

"I  do/'  answered  the  man  grimly.  "I  saw  his 
face  plain,  a-lookin'  at  me  above  th'  top  of  his  rifle." 

A  deep  growl  went  up  from  the  surrounding 
crowd,  a  sound  more  like  the  throat  mutterings  of 
a  monstrous  tiger  than  anything  human.  The 
sheriff  started  and  his  keen  eyes  swiftly  searched 
the  circle  of  faces. 

"I  reckon  thar  ain't  no  need  of  waitin'  for  more 
testimony,"  cried  a  hoarse  voice.  'They  was  seen 
killin'  th'  man;  an'  that's  all  we  wants  tew  know. 
Let  jedgement  be  pronounced,  an'  we'll  'tend  tew  th' 
ex'cutin'  of  it." 

"Right!"  yelled  another.  "There's  no  need  of 
wasting  more — " 

"Silence!"  thundered  the  alcalde,  leaping  to  his 
feet.  "This  court,  a  court  elected  by  your  own  au 
thority,  is  trying  the  prisoners ;  and,  by  the  Eternal 
Andrew  Jackson!  they  shall  not  be  declared  guilty 
until  they  have  been  heard  in  their  own  defense, 
until  they  have  been  proven  guilty  in  full  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  this  city.  William  Ugger,  you  may 
go  on  with  your  testimony.  There  will  be  no  fur- 


n6  The  Cave  of  Gold 

ther  interruptions/'  and  the  alcalde  quietly  laid  a 
couple  of  big  revolvers  down  on  top  of  the  barrel, 
one  on  each  side  of  the  Bible. 

At  this  moment  and  when  all  eyes  were  bent  on 
the  alcalde,  Thure  felt  a  slight  jerk  on  his  coat 
sleeve,  and,  glancing  down,  saw  that  the  smaller  of 
their  accusers,  the  pock-marked  man,  had  moved  up 
close  to  his  side  and  that  it  had  been  his  hand  that 
had  jerked  his  sleeve. 

"Read  at  once,"  and  the  man  swiftly  slipped  a 
piece  of  paper  into  his  hand.  "It  is  your  only  hope/' 
and  he  moved  away,  not  having  once  even  glanced 
toward  Thure. 

Thure,  stepping  a  little  behind  Bud  and  holding 
the  paper  so  that  no  eyes  but  his  own  could  see  it, 
cautiously  opened  the  note  and  slowly  read  these 
words : 

If  you  wil  give  us  the  miners  map  and  promice 
tu  say  nuthin  bout  the  gold  kave  Bill  and  me  wil 
sudenly  diskuver  that  we  is  mistakin  in  thinkin 
that  you  was  the  ones  tu  kil  old  Stakpole  and  you 
wil  go  free.  If  you  dont  you  wil  both  hang  afore 
sun  down  tu  nite  and  al  the  gold  in  Caleforny  aint 
wurth  as  much  tu  you  as  is  yur  lives.  If  you 
agrees  tu  this  nod  yur  hed  2  times.  If  you  dont 
git  redy  tu  hang. ' 

The  note  was  unsigned;  and  no  signature  was 
necessary.  Its  meaning  was  plain.  The  two  boys 
were  to  surrender  the  skin  map  to  the  two  scoun 
drels  and  say  nothing  about  the  Cave  of  Gold;  or, 


The  Testimony  of  Bill  Ugger  117 

the  dreadful  plot,  in  whose  meshes  they  found  them 
selves  so  tightly  ensnared,  was  to  be  followed  out  to 
its  horrible  conclusion.  The  motive  back  of  the 
two  men's  action  now  stood  revealed.  They  ex 
pected  to  frighten  the  two  boys  into  giving  up  the 
skin  map  and  into  keeping  secret  their  knowledge 
of  the  Cave  of  Gold.  But,  what  a  fiendish  plot! 
And  with  what  diabolical  cunning  it  had  all  been 
worked  out  and  was  being  executed ! 

Thure  read  the  note  through  slowly;  and,  in  a 
flash,  he  had  comprehended  the  whole  atrocious, 
scheme  and  with  what  devilish  cunning  circum 
stances  had  been  manipulated  to  bring  about  their 
present  terrible  situation ;  but,  only  the  furious  look 
in  his  eyes  showed  how  the  note  had  affected  him. 

"From  Pockface,"  he  whispered,  as  he  quietly 
slipped  the  paper  into  Bud's  hand.  "Read  it  on  the 
sly ;  and  then  give  me  your  answer." 

Bud  cautiously  took  the  note  and  opened  it,  won 
dering  greatly  at  its  coming  from  Pockface.  He 
read  it  through  slowly,  comprehendingly ;  and  then 
he  turned  and  glanced  into  Thure's  face.  One  look 
was  sufficient. 

During  all  this  time  Pockface's  eyes  had  been 
covertly  watching  the  boys. 

Bud  now  waited  until  he  saw  that  the  man's  eyes 
were  upon  him,  then  he  deliberately  raised  the  piece 
of  paper  to  his  mouth,  spit  on  it,  and,  bending  down, 
placed  it  under  the  heel  of  his  boot,  ground  it  to 
pieces  in  the  ground,  and,  defiantly  turning  his  back 


n8  The  Cave  of  Gold 

on  the  man,  gave  his  attention  to  the  doings  of  the 
alcalde. 

The  two  scoundrels  had  misjudged  the  courage 
and  the  pluck  of  two  American  boys  like  Thure  Con- 
royal  and  Bud  Randolph;  and,  judging  from  the 
scowls  that  disfigured  their  faces  and  the  ugly  light 
that  flashed  into  their  eyes,  at  the  sight  of  Bud's  ac 
tions,  in  their  disappointment,  they  would  show 
them  no  mercy.  They  would  get  the  map,  or  they 
would  hang  the  boys.  Indeed,  this  action  on  their 
part  now  became  almost  necessary;  for,  if  they  did 
not  succeed  in  hanging  the  boys,  the  boys,  in  all 
probability,  would  succeed  in  hanging  them. 

This  dramatic  byplay  had  taken  but  a  short  time 
in  the  enacting  and  had  passed  unnoticed  in  the  ex 
citement  occasioned  by  the  threats  from  the  sur 
rounding  crowd  and  the  placing  of  the  alcalde's 
two  big  revolvers  by  the  side  of  the  Bible  on  top  of 
the  barrel  standing  in  front  of  him.  When  it  was 
over  and  Thure  and  Bud  again  gave  their  attention 
to  the  court,  Bill  Ugger  was  about  to  continue  with 
his  testimony,  the  majority  of  the  crowd  having 
shown  themselves  so  plainly  in  sympathy  with  the 
actions  of  the  alcalde  that  the  rougher  ones  evidently 
thought  it  wise  to  keep  quiet. 

"As  I  was  a-sayin',"  continued  Bill  Ugger,  when 
everything  had  quieted  down  again,  "afore  we  could 
git  near  enough  tew  th'  murderers  tew  use  our  pis 
tols,  they  held  us  up  with  their  rifles,  an'  ordered  us 
tew  git  an'  git  lively;  an',  by  way  of  makin'  plain 


The  Testimony  of  Bill  Ugger  119 

their  meanin',  that  skunk/'  and  he  glared  at  Thure, 
"sent  a  bullet  a-whistlin'  so  close  tew  my  ears  that 
it  made  this  hole  through  th'  brim  of  my  hat,"  and 
the  man  held  up  his  wide-brimmed  hat  and  pointed 
with  his  finger  to  a  little  round  hole  in  the  brim  close 
to  the  crown.  'Three  inches  more  tew  one  side  an' 
he'd  a-got  me,  tew. 

"Wai,  me  an'  Spike  didn't  stop  tew  argy  none 
after  that;  but  got  back  ahind  them  bushes  an'  trees 
as  sudden  as  our  legs  would  take  us.  But/'  and 
Ugger  paused  and  glared  at  Thure  and  Bud,  "if  I 
knowed  I  was  on  my  deathbed  an'  a-goin'  tew  die 
in  five  minits,  I'd  be  willin'  tew  swear  that  th'  tew 
murderers  was  them  tew  boys  a-standin'  thar.  We 
saw  their  faces  plain  an'  thar  ain't  no  mistake,"  and 
his  eyes  flashed  an  ugly  look  in  the  direction  of 
Thure  and  Bud. 

"Of  course,"  continued  Bill  Ugger,  "they  didn't 
dare  follow  us,  'cause,  if  they  did,  they  knowed  we 
could  hide  ahind  a  tree  an'  pot  'em,  which  we'd  ben 
sum  glad  tew  do,"  and  his  eyes  glowed  vindictively. 
"Wai,  we  waited,  hid  ahind  th'  bushes  an'  trees, 
not  darin'  tew  show  ourselves  an'  bein'  tew  far 
off  tew  do  any  pistol  shootin',  a-hopin'  that  they'd 
ride  off  an'  leave  th'  body  of  th'  man  they'd  robbed 
an'  probably  killed,  but  they  was  tew  cunnin'  tew  do 
that;  for,  in  a  leetle  while,  they  throwed  th'  body, 
like  it  was  a  bag  of  grain,  across  th'  back  of  one  of 
th'  hosses  an'  tied  it  thar;  an'  then  they  rode  off, 
a-leadin'  th'  hoss  with  th'  body  on  it  ahind  'em. 


120  The  Cave  of  Gold 

Me  an'  Spike  waited  'til  they'd  gone  out  of  sight 
over  th'  top  of  a  distant  hill  an'  then  we  made  for 
th'  spot  of  th'  killin'.  Th'  grass  was  sum  tread  up 
an'  bloody;  an'  lyin'  in  th'  blood  an'  partly  tread 
intew  th'  ground,  we  found  this,"  and  Ugger  thrust 
his  hand  into  one  of  his  pockets  and  pulled  out  a 
small  daguerreotype-case,  perhaps  a  couple  of 
inches  square,  on  which  could  be  plainly  seen  omi 
nous  stains  of  red. 

"This,"  and  he  held  up  the  small  case  where  all 
could  see,  "has  inside  of  it  th'  picter  of  as  handsum 
a  lady  as  I  ever  seed;  an'  under  th'  picter  is  writ,  in 
a  woman's  writin,'  these  words :  'Tew  my  beloved 
husband,  John  Stackpole' ;  an'  we  reckoned,  me  an' 
Spike  did,  as  how  th'  murdered  man's  name  must 
a-ben  John  Stackpole.  See  for  yourselves,"  and  he 
handed  the  case  to  the  alcalde,  who,  after  opening 
it  and  looking  at  the  picture  inside  and  the  blood 
stains  on  the  outside,  passed  it  on  to  the  jury,  who 
•examined  it  carefully. 

"Of  course,"  continued  Ugger,  after  he  had 
watched  the  effect  of  the  daguerreotype  on  the  al 
calde  and  the  jury  for  a  minute,  "bein'  bound  for 
th'  diggin's  an'  knowin'  'twould  be  almost  useless 
tew  try  an'  trail  th'  murderers,  me  an'  Spike  at  once 
started  on  our  way  ag'in  for  Sacermento  City,  not 
expectin'  tew  see  them  murderers  ag'in,  leastwise 
not  so  soon.  We  got  intew  th'  city  this  mornin' ;  an' 
was  a-standin'  on  th'  street  a-lookin'  at  th'  humans 


The  Testimony  of  Bill  Ugger  121 

a-passin'  by,  when  who  should  come  a-ridin'  along^ 
right  afore  our  eyes,  but  them  tew  identickle  young 
fellers  what  we  had  seen  kill  that  man;  an',  of 
course,  bein'  honest  an'  law-abidin'  men,  me  an* 
Spike  seen  tew  it  that  they  didn't  git  away  a  second 
time.  Now,  I  reckon,  that's  all  I've  got  tew  tell, 
only,"  and  again  his  eyes  turned  vindictively  to 
Thure  and  Bud,  "thar  ain't  ben  no  mistake  made  an* 
you've  got  th'  right  men;  an'  if  they  don't  hang 
afore  night,  then  thar  ain't  no  justice  in  Sacermento 
City.  I'm  done." 

The  alcalde  sat  for  a  moment  looking  straight  in 
front  of  him.  Evidently  he  was  swiftly  reviewing 
the  man's  testimony  to  see  if  there  were  any  points 
that  needed  clearing  up;  but  everything  had  been 
told,  apparently,  in  such  a  clear,  straightforward 
manner  that  there  seemed  to  be  nothing  that  needed 
explaining,  and,  with  a  sigh  as  he  thought  of  the 
youthfulness  of  the  prisoners,  the  alcalde  turned  to 
the  jury. 

"Would  you  like  to  ask  the  witness  any  ques 
tions  ?"  he  inquired. 

"No.  Everything  seems  to  have  been  told  as 
clear  and  as  straight  as  a  string,"  one  of  them  re 
plied,  and  all  the  others  nodded  their  assent  to  this, 
statement. 

"Have  the  prisoners  any  questions  they  wish  to 
ask  the  witness?"  and  the  alcalde  turned  to  Thure 
and  Bud. 


122  The  Cave  of  Gold 

For  a  moment  the  two  boys  consulted  together. 
Then  Thure  said  quietly:  "No,  there  is  nothing 
that  either  of  us  would  care  to  ask  that  man." 

"The  prisoner  is  dismissed  for  the  present,"  and 
the  alcalde  motioned  Bill  Ugger  to  step  back  from  in 
front  of  the  barrel. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE   MISSING   BUTTON 

*  <  Yf  OU  may  step  forward  and  be  sworn/'  and  the 
•••     alcalde  turned  his  shrewd  eyes  on  the  pock 
marked  face  of  the  small  man. 

The  man  stepped  quickly  forward;  but,  Just  be 
fore  he  reached  the  barrel,  a  sudden  gleam  shot  into 
his  eyes,  which  at  that  moment  happened  to  be  bent 
on  the  ground  and  looking  at  the  spot  where  Thure 
and  Ugger  had  had  their  brief  but  vigorous  strug 
gle.  The  next  instant  his  foot  apparently  caught  in 
a  root  that  protruded  above  the  ground;  and  he 
stumbled  and  fell  violently  downward,  both  out 
stretched  hands  clutching  at  the  ground.  As  he 
jumped  hastily  to  his  feet,  his  face  very  red  and  his 
mouth  flowing  with  apologies  to  the  alcalde  for  his 
clumsiness,  he  glanced  downward  swiftly  into  one  of 
his  hands,  and  then,  with  another  quick  gleam  of 
cunning  triumph  in  his  eyes,  he  quickly  slipped  the 
hand  into  one  of  his  pockets,  and,  taking  his  place  in 
front  of  the  barrel,  faced  the  alcalde. 

"What  is  your  name  and  present  business?"  the 
alcalde  asked,  when  he  had  sworn  the  witness,  in  the 
same  manner  Ugger  had  been  sworn,  to  tell  the 
truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth. 

123 


124  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"Spikenard  Quinley,"  the  man  answered,  shifting 
his  eyes  quickly  from  the  face  of  the  alcalde  to  the 
two  big  revolvers  on  top  of  the  barrel;  "but  most  of 
my  friends  jest  call  me  Spike,  for  short.  I'm  bound 
for  th'  diggings,  'long  with  my  pard,  Bill  Ugger,  him 
who  jest  testified." 

"Tell  the  jury  all  that  you  know  about  the  case 
now  before  it ;  and  make  your  testimony  as  brief  as 
possible,  please,"  and  the  alcalde  settled  back  on  his 
rude  seat  and  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  face  of  the  wit 
ness. 

Quinley  did  not  prove  to  be  as  dramatic  a  witness 
as  Ugger  had  been ;  but  he  told  a  seemingly  straight 
forward  and  honest  story  of  how  he  and  his  part 
ner  had  witnessed  the  killing  of  the  man  supposed 
to  be  John  Stackpole,  that  differed  only  in  the  man 
ner  of  its  telling  from  the  one  already  told  by  Ugger, 
and,  consequently,  need  not  be  repeated  here.  He, 
also,  was  very  positive  that  the  two  men,  who  had 
jumped  up  from  the  prostrate  body  of  the  man  and 
had  held  them  up  with  their  rifles,  were  the  two 
prisoners ;  and  right  here  he  introduced  a  bit  of  new 
corroborative  evidence  in  a  most  effective  and  dra 
matic  manner. 

He  had  completed  his  testimony  and  had  been 
'dismissed  by  the  alcalde  and  had  started  away  from 
the  court-barrel,  when  he  suddenly  stopped,  as  if  he 
had  unexpectedly  remembered  something  that  might 
have  a  bearing  on  the  case,  and  turned  to  the  alcalde. 

"Excuse  me,  y'ur  honor/'  he  said,  as  he  thrust  a 


The  Missing  Button  125 

hand  into  one  of  his  pockets,  the  same  pocket  into 
which  he  had  thrust  the  same  hand  a  moment  after 
his  tumble  over  the  root,  "but  I've  jest  reckerlected 
that  I've  sumthin'  right  here  in  my  pocket  that  might 
help  tew  identify  the  prisoners  as  the  murderers,  an* 
ag'in  it  might  not — not  that  me  and  Bill  needs  any 
more  identifin',  but,  naterly,  you,  not  seein'  'em  kill 
th'  man,  ain't  so  sart'in  an'  wants  all  th'  proof  that 
you  can  git  tew  show  that  you  shore  have  got  the 
right  party;  an'  so,  if  y'ur  honor  don't  object,  I've 
got  a  leetle  sumthin'  more  that  I'd  like  tew  introduce 
as  testimony,  that  might,  an'  ag'in  it  might  not,  help 
tew  make  th'  identity  of  th'  prisoners  more  shore," 
and  he  paused,  still  keeping  his  hand  in  his  pocket. 

"This  court  is  always  ready  to  hear  any  testimony 
that  has  any  bearing  on  the  case  before  it,"  the  al 
calde  said.  "Take  your  place  again  on  the  witness 
stand,"  and  he  nodded  toward  the  barrel. 

Quinley  at  once  returned  to  his  place  in  front  of 
the  barrel. 

"Now,  remembering  that  you  are  still  under  oath 
to  tell  God's  truth,  you  may  introduce  your  evi 
dence,"  and  the  alcalde  half-arose  from  his  seat  in 
his  anxiety  to  see  what  this  new  evidence  might  be. 

"Of  course,  I'm  none  shore  that  it  belongs  tew 
either  of  th'  prisoners,"  Quinley  began.  "It  might 
have  come  from  th'  clothes  of  th'  murdered  man,  an' 
ag'in  it  might  have  come  from  th'  clothes  of  th'  pris 
oners,  an'  ag'in  th'  prisoners  might  not  have  on  th' 
same  clothes  tew-day  that  they  did  when  they  killed 


126  The  Cave  of  Gold 

th'  man,  an'  so  it  might  prove  nuthin';  but,  right 
whar  th'  grass  was  tread  up  th'  worst  on  th'  spot 
whar  we  saw  th'  man  killed,  I  found  this — "  and  the 
hand  came  out  of  the  pocket  and  was  extended 
toward  the  alcalde,  holding  on  its  palm  a  button. 
"Now  I'd  plumb  forgot  all  about  th'  findin'  of  this 
button,  not  settin'  any  store  on  it,  when,  jest  as  I 
was  a-leavin'  th'  witness  stand,  th'  thought  popped 
intew  my  head,  that,  if  th'  prisoners  happened  tew 
have  on  th'  same  clothes  they  had  on  when  they  mur 
dered  the  man  an'  th'  button  came  from  their  clothes, 
then  I  had  in  my  pocket  important  evidence,  'cause 
th'  button  is  a  peekuler  lookin'  button,  an',  I  reckon, 
thar  must  be  more  buttons  like  it  on  th'  clothes  whar 
it  come  from.  I  asks  that  th'  clothes  of  th'  prison 
ers  be  examined  tew  see  if  either  on  'em  has  buttons 
on  like  this,"  and  he  handed  the  button  to  the  alcalde. 

The  alcalde  took  the  button  and  sat  for  a  moment 
staring  at  it  as  it  lay  on  the  palm  of  his  hand — a 
small  thing,  but  it  might  help  to  weave  the  rope  that 
would  hang  two  human  beings ! 

"Git  a-goin',"  shouted  someone  impatiently  from 
the  surrounding  crowd,  "an'  see  if  either  of  th' 
prisoners  has  got  any  buttons  on  his  clothes  like  that 
you're  a-holdin'  in  y'ur  hand.  If  he  has,  I  reckon, 
thar  won't  be  any  need  of  takin'  any  more  testi 


monies." 


A  dozen  voices  shouted  their  approval  of  this 
statement.  Evidently  the  sympathies  of  the  crowd 
were  being  fast  turned  from  Thure  and  Bud. 


The  Missing  Button  127 

The  alcalde  arose  slowly  to  his  feet. 

"This  court,"  he  said  sternly,  "is  here  to  see  that 
the  prisoners  are  given  a  fair  trial,  guilty  or  not 
guilty;  and  judgment  shall  not  be  pronounced  until 
the  case  has  been  fairly  tried  and  their  innocence 
or  their  guilt  fully  established.  This  cannot  be 
done  until  the  prisoners  themselves  have  been  heard 
in  their  own  defense.  Let  us  hear  no  more  talk  of 
mob  judgment  and  mob  execution.  The  court  will 
pronounce  judgment,  and  the  court  will  see  that  its 
judgment  is  promptly  executed,  to  the  full  satisfac 
tion  of  every  honest  law-abiding  man  in  the  city/' 
He  paused  for  a  moment,  while  his  keen  eyes  sternly 
searched  the  faces  of  the  surrounding  crowd. 
There  was  no  response  to  his  words  and  challenging 
glance. 

"This  button,"  he  continued  quietly,  holding  up 
the  button  that  Quinley  had  handed  him  where  all 
could  see  it,  "the  witness  swears  was  picked  up  by 
himself  from  the  ground,  where  the  struggle  be 
tween  the  murdered  man  and  his  murderers  took 
place,  and  is  presumed  to  have  come  either  from 
the  clothing  of  the  murdered  man  or  from  the  cloth 
ing  of  his  murderers ;  and  the  witness  asks  that  the 
clothing  of  the  two  prisoners  be  examined  to  see 
if  like  buttoms  can  be  found  on  their  clothing.  The 
contentions  of  the  witness,  regarding  the  value  of 
this  button  as  evidence  in  the  case  before  us,  are 
just.  Therefore  his  request  is  granted  and  the 
prisoners  are  ordered  to  be  examined.  Young 


128  The  Cave  of  Gold 

man,"  and  he  turned  to  Bud,  "you  will  please  come 
forward;  and  allow  the  gentlemen  of  the  jury  to 
compare  this  button  with  the  buttons  on  your  cloth 
ing/'  and  he  handed  the  button  he  held  in  his  hand 
to  the  foreman  of  the  jury. 

The  production  of  this  button  by  Quinley  was  a 
surprise  to  Thure  and  Bud.  If  it  should  prove  to 
have  come  from  the  clothing  of  one  of  them,  it 
certainly  would  look  suspicious;  but,  how  could  it 
have  come  from  their  clothes,  at  least  from  the 
clothes  they  now  had  on,  since  neither  of  them  were 
now  wearing  the  same  garments  that  they  had 
worn  on  the  day  of  the  hunt,  when  they  had  found 
the  murdered  miner?  Consequently  the  introduc 
ing  of  the  button  as  evidence  by  Quinley  had  caused 
both  of  them  more  surprise  than  it  had  uneasiness, 
surprise  that  Quinley  should  care  to  introduce  such 
meaningless  evidence  as  he  must  know  the  button 
to  be,  since  the  examination  of  their  clothing  could 
only  prove  that  the  button  belonged  to  neither  of 
them.  The  episode  of  Quinley's  stumble,  in  the  ex 
citement  of  the  trial,  had  passed  from  both  of  their 
minds,  as,  doubtless,  it  had  from  the  minds  of  all 
the  others;  but,  even  if  they  had  remembered 
it,  they  would  not  have  thought  of  connecting  it  in 
any  way  with  the  finding  of  the  button.  Hence 
Bud,  at  the  summons  of  the  alcalde,  had  stepped 
forward  promptly  and  confidently. 

"We  find  two  buttons  missing  from  the  prisoner's 
coat,"  announced  the  foreman  of  the  jury,  when 


The  Missing  Button  129 

the  examination  of  Bud  had  been  completed.  "But, 
since  the  button  offered  in  evidence  bears  no  re 
semblance  in  design  or  size  to  the  buttons  remain 
ing  on  the  coat,  we  declare  that  so  far  as  this  pris 
oner  is  concerned  the  button  in  question  proves 
nothing." 

"You  may  return  to  your  place  by  the  side  of 
the  sheriff/'  and  the  alcalde  gave  an  almost  audible 
sigh  of  relief,  while  something  very  near  like  a 
cheer  came  from  the  crowd.  It  was  hard  to  look 
into  those  two  young  clear-eyed  faces  and  believe 
that  they  masked  the  hearts  of  murderers. 

Bud  hurried  back  to  his  place  by  the  side  of  the 
sheriff,  with  the  first  smile  on  his  lips  that  had  so 
far  brightened  his  face  during  the  trial. 

"Now/'  and  the  alcalde  turned  to  Thure,  "let  the 
jury  compare  the  button  with  the  buttons  on  your 
clothing/'  and  the  anxious  look  came  back  on  his 
face. 

Thure,  with  the  same  promptness  and  confidence 
that  Bud  had  displayed,  advanced  and  submitted 
to  the  examination ;  but,  hardly  had  he  reached  the 
foreman  of  the  jury,  when  the  excited  actions  of 
the  jurymen  told  all  that  an  important  discovery 
of  some  kind  had  been  made ;  and  their  report  was 
awaited  with  almost  breathless  interest. 

"We  find,"  began  the  foreman,  speaking  slowly, 
after  every  man  on  the  jury  had  carefully  compared 
the  button  Quinley  had  handed  to  the  alcalde  with 
the  buttons  on  Thure's  coat,  "one  button  missing 


130  The  Cave  of  Gold 

from  the  prisoner's  coat."  He  paused  a  moment, 
and  then  continued,  raising  his  voice  a  little :  "We 
also  find  that  the  button  handed  to  the  alcalde  by 
the  witness,  Spikenard  Quinley,  and  said  to  have 
been  found  by  him  on  the  spot  of  ground  where  the 
struggle  took  place  between  the  murdered  man  and 
his  murderers,  to  be  exactly  similar  in  design,  size, 
and  shape  to  the  remaining  buttons  on  the  pris 
oner's  coat,  and  that  it  appears  to  be  the  missing 
button." 

"But — but,"  stammered  Thure,  his  face  white 
and  tense  with  excitement,  "that  button,  if  it  came 
from  my  clothes,  could  not  have  been  found  on  the 
ground  where  the  miner  was  murdered.  Why,  I 
did  not  even  have  on  the  same  clothes  that  day  that 
I  have  on  now — " 

"What!"  and  the  alcalde  jumped  to  his  feet,  his 
face  white  and  stern,  while  again  that  deep- 
throated  growl  went  up  from  the  crowd,  "What  do 
you  mean  by  'that  day?'  Do  you  realize  that  your 
expression  amounts  almost  to  a  confession  of 
guilt?" 

"No,"  and  Thure  turned  firmly  to  the  alcalde. 
By  a  desperate  effort  he  had  recovered  his  self-con 
trol.  "It  means,  if  that  button  was  found  on  the 
spot  where  the  miner  was  murdered,  that  it  did 
not  come  from  my  clothes;  for  I  did  not  have  on 
the  same  clothes  on  the  day  we  found  the  wounded 
miner  that  I  have  on  now.  The  button,  if  it  came 
from  my  clothes,  and  I  confess  that  it  looks  as  if  it 


The  Missing  Button  131 

did,  must  have  been  got  by  that  man  in  some  other 
way/'  and  Thure's  eyes  flashed  wrathfully  in  the 
direction  of  Quinley,  who  grinned  and  touched  his 
neck  suggestively. 

A  hoarse  laugh,  that  had  no  sound  of  mirth  in 
it,  came  from  the  surrounding  crowd,  at  this  im 
probable  explanation  of  Thure,  an  explanation  that 
strengthened  rather  than  weakened  their  belief  in 
the  testimony  of  Quinley;  but  a  look  of  relief,  as 
well  as  of  surprise,  came  on  the  face  of  the  alcalde. 

"Ah,  I  forgot.  We  have  not  yet  heard  your 
story.  You  say  that  you  found  the  miner,  John 
Stackpole,  found  him  wounded  ?"  he  asked  eagerly. 
'Then  he  is  still  alive  ?" 

"Yes,  we  found  him,"  Thure  answered  slowly, 
"found  him  in  the  hands  of  his  murderers,  but  not 
in  time  to  save  him.  He  died  before  we  could  get 
him  home." 

"Died!  And  in  your  hands!"  and  again  the 
alcalde's  face  grew  stern,  and  again  that  hoarse 
unbelieving  laugh  came  from  the  crowd.  "Young 
man,  do  you  realize  that  you  are  telling  a  very  im 
probable-sounding  story?  But,"  and  the  alcalde 
resumed  his  judicial  gravity  of  countenance,  "I  am 
forgetting  that  you  are  not  on  the  witness  stand. 
The  button,  it  appears  then,  came  from  the  pris 
oner's  coat,"  and  he  turned  to  the  foreman  of  the 
jury. 

"It  does,"  answered  the  foreman  gravely. 

"The  prisoner  may  return  to  his  place  by  the  side 


132  The  Cave  of  Gold 

of  the  sheriff.  Now,"  and  the  alcalde's  eyes 
searched  the  surrounding  faces,  "is  there  anyone 
else  present  who  has  any  testimony  to  give  against 
the  prisoners  now  on  trial  before  this  court  for  the 
murder  of  John  Stackpole  ?"  and  he  paused,  to  give 
anyone  who  wished  to  do  so  time  to  come  forward. 

"I  reckon  the  testimony  is  plenty  sufficient  as  it 
now  stands/'  and  a  huge  brutal-looking  man 
pushed  his  way  through  the  crowd  and  faced  the 
alcalde.  "Haven't  two  reputable  witnesses  sworn 
that  they  saw  the  prisoners  kill  the  man?  Didn't 
one  of  them  find  a  buttom  that  has  been  proven  to 
belong  to  the  coat  of  one  of  the  prisoners  on  the 
yery  spot  where  the  man  was  killed?  And  what 
can  be  offered  in  disproof  of  all  this  ?  Nothing  but 
the  word  of  the  prisoners  themselves,  who  certainly 
would  lie  to  save  their  necks,  if  they  would  kill  a 
man  to  get  his  gold.  I  move,"  and  he  whirled 
about  and  faced  the  crowd,  now  muttering  and 
growling  like  a  huge  beast,  "that  the  jury  be  in 
structed  to  render  their  verdict  now,  so  that  we 
can  hang  them  two  young  devils  and  get  about  our 
business.  All  in  favor — " 

"Wait V9  The  alcalde's  voice  rang  out  clear  and 
imperative;  and,  as  he  spoke,  he  stepped  out  in 
front  of  the  barrel,  one  of  the  big  revolvers  held  in 
each  hand.  "Before  you  put  your  motion  I  have 
a  few  words  to  say;  and,  after  I  have  said  my  few 
words,  you  can  put  your  motion;  and  we  will  see 


The  Missing  Button  133 

whether  the  men  of  Sacramento  City  stand  for  law 
and  justice  or  for  mob  brutality." 

"Hear!  Hear!"  shouted  a  number  of  voices. 
"The  alcalde  shall  be  heard!" 

"Men,"  continued  the  alcalde,  his  voice  ringing 
.with  intense  earnestness,  "I  stand  not  here  to  plead 
for  mercy  in  behalf  of  these  two  young  men,  al 
though  their  youth  might  almost  justify  such  a 
plea.  I  am  here  to  demand  justice.  If  this  court, 
after  fair  trial  shall  find  them  guilty  of  the  brutal 
murder  charged  against  them,  then,  in  the  name 
of  the  same  justice  that  I  now  invoke  to  protect 
them,  they  must  hang ;  for,  in  a  community  situated 
as  we  are,  self-protection  compels  us  to  deal  with 
murderers  with  stern  and  relentless  hands.  But 
— Hear  my  words ! — the  prisoners  have  not  yet 
been  proven  guilty  before  this  court.  They  have 
not  yet  had  fair  trial.  They  have  not  yet  even 
been  heard  in  their  own  defense.  When  I  took  my 
oath  of  office  to  serve  you  as  alcalde,  that  oath,  the 
oath  you  yourselves  compelled  me  to  swear,  bound 
me  to  see  that  every  prisoner  brought  before  me 
had  fair  and  speedy  trial.  I  meant  to  keep  that 
oath  then ;  and,  by  the  Eternal  Andrew  Jackson !  I 
mean  to  keep  it  now,  if  need  be  with  my  life.  Now, 
you  can  put  your  motion,"  and,  with  a  couple  of 
quick  strides,  the  alcalde  placed  himself  by  the  side 
of  the  sheriff,  near  the  two  prisoners,  the  two  big 
revolvers  held  ready  for  instant  use.  He  knew 


134  The  Cave  of  Gold 

that  the  only  way  to  check  mob  violence  was  to 
stop  it  before  it  gathered  momentum. 

"Give  the  prisoners  justice !"  "They  shall  have 
justice!"  "Hurrah,  for  the  alcalde!"  shouted  a 
hundred  voices ;  and  stern-faced  men  pushed  them 
selves  through  the  crowd  from  every  direction  and 
formed  a  cordon  around  the  prisoners  and  the  court. 

"Go  on  with  the  trial.  We  will  see  that  the  court 
is  sustained/'  and  a  man  stepped  out  from  the  sur 
rounding  cordon  and  bowed  to  the  alcalde. 

The  mutterings  and  growlings  suddenly  ceased. 
The  huge  brutal-looking  man  slunk  back  into  the 
crowd,  his  motion  unput. 

In  the  midst  of  these  exciting  moments,  when  the 
attention  of  all  was  concentrated  on  the  alcalde, 
Bud  suddenly  felt  a  hand  thrust  something  into  his 
hand  from  behind.  He  turned  quickly.  Bill 
Ugger  stood  not  four  feet  behind  him. 

"Read,"  and  Ugger  moved  a  couple  of  steps 
back  and  to  one  side. 

Bud  glanced  down  at  his  hand  and  saw  that  he 
held  a  bit  of  folded  paper.  Hastily,  yet  cautiously, 
he  unfolded  it  and  read  these  words  scrawled  on  it 
with  a  lead  pencil : 

Me  and  Spike  kan  yit  save  you.  Give  up  the 
miners  map  and  promis  to  tell  nobudy  of  the  kave 
of  gold  and  we  wil  git  you  free.  Refuse  and  we 
wil  let  you  hang  and  then  git  the  map  off  yur  ded 
bodies  we  wil  git  the  map  anyway  so  whats  the 
use  of  given  up  yur  lives.  Weve  got  things  fixed 


The  Missing  Button  135 

so  that  you  kant  eskape  the  rope  unles  we  save  you 
so  youve  got  to  give  us  the  map  or  hang.  Make 
yur  own  choice  taint  our  funrel. 

If  you  agrees  nod  yur  hed  2  times  to  Spike  and 
you  wil  be  free  in  less  than  10  minits. 

Bud  read  these  words  through  slowly ;  and  then, 
moving  up  close  to  Thure,  he  passed  the  paper  to 
him. 

"Read  it,"  he  said,  fixing  his  eyes  anxiously  on  his 
comrade's  face. 

By  this  time  both  boys  saw  plainly  how 
Strong  was  the  web  of  evidence  that  the  two 
villains  had  so  cunningly  succeeded  in  throw 
ing  around  them;  and  how  completely  they  ap 
peared  to  have  them  in  their  power.  And  what 
could  they  do  or  say  to  disprove  their  testimony? 
Their  own  tale,  looked  at  in  the  light  of  the  evi 
dence  of  the  two  men,  would  seem  improbable, 
would  sound  like  a  tale  made  up  to  fit  the  occasion. 
And  they  could  not  bring  forward  a  single  witness 
to  prove  its  truthfulness!  No  wonder  the  unfor 
tunate  boys  were  tempted  to  give  up  the  skin  map ; 
for  what  is  gold,  when  weighed  in  the  balance 
against  life? 

Thure  read  the  note;  and  then  turned  to  Bud, 
his  face  white  and  his  heart  throbbing  with  anxiety. 

"What  shall  our  answer  be?"  he  asked  in  a 
whisper.  "I  hate  like  sin  to  give  up  the  skin  map 
to  them  two  scoundrels ;  but,  I  reckon,  our  fathers 
and  mothers  would  rather  have  our  lives  than  the 


136  The  Cave  of  Gold 

gold.  But/'  and  his  face  brightened  a  little,  "we 
have  not  yet  given  our  testimony.  I  reckon  we 
had  better  wait  until  we  see  how  the  alcalde  and 
the  jury  take  our  stories  before  giving  up  the  map." 

"Yes,"  agreed  Bud,  his  own  face  brightening  at 
the  thought  of  putting  off  the  surrender  a  little 
longer,  "we  will  wait  and  see  what  effect  our  testi 
mony  has.  But,  I  guess  you  are  right,  if  it  comes 
to  hanging,"  and  he  shuddered,  "or  giving  up  the 
map,  we'll  have  to  give  up  the  map.  But  we  won't 
give  up  until  we've  got  to,"  and  his  face  hardened. 
"Who'd  a  thought  them  two  scoundrels  could  get 
us  in  such  a  terrible  fix!"  and  he  glared  wrathfully 
in  the  direction  of  the  two  men,  who  now  stood  close 
together  regarding  Thure  and  Bud  with  furtive 
but  anxious  eyes. 

"Now  to  give  them  two  skunks  their  answer," 
and  Thure,  holding  the  paper  out  where  the  two 
men  could  see  it,  deliberately  tore  it  to  pieces  and, 
turning  his  back  scornfully  to  them,  gave  his  at 
tention  to  the  doings  of  the  court. 


CHAPTER  XI 

AN  UNEXPECTED  WITNESS 

alcalde,  the  moment  he  saw  that  the  mob 
*  spirit  had  been  subdued,  had  returned  quietly 
to  his  place  behind  the  barrel;  and,  when  the  two 
boys  again  gave  their  attention  to  him,  he  had  just 
reached  his  rude  seat  of  judgment,  and  was  about 
to  speak. 

"I  knew,"  he  said,  as  his  keen  eyes  searched  the 
faces  of  the  men,  who  had  so  opportunely  formed 
the  cordon  of  safety  around  him  and  his  court, 
"that  I  could  depend  on  the  good  sense  and  fair- 
mindedness  of  the  people  of  Sacramento  City.  We 
will  now  proceed  with  the  trial,"  and  he  quietly 
slipped  back  both  of  his  revolvers  into  his  coat 
pockets. 

"Once  more,"  and  the  alcalde  raised  his  voice  so 
that  all  could  hear,  "the  court  asks,  is  there  any 
other  witness  to  bear  testimony  against  the  two 
prisoners,  if  so,  let  him  now  step  forward." 

For  a  minute  or  two  the  alcalde  waited.  There 
was  no  movement,  no  word  from  the  surrounding 
crowd. 

"We  will  now  proceed  with  the  examination  of 
the  prisoners.  Young  man,  take  your  place  on  the 

137 


138  The  Cave  of  Gold 

witness  stand/'  and  the  alcalde  turned  to  Thure. 

"Don't  get  excited.  Keep  cool/'  cautioned  Bud, 
as  Thure  hastened  to  take  his  place  in  front  of  the 
barrel. 

A  hush  came  over  the  great  encircling  crowd, 
as  Thure  stood  before  the  alcalde  and  was  solemnly 
sworn  to  tell  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  noth 
ing  but  the  truth.  Many  of  those  rough  bearded 
men  had  sons  of  their  own  back  at  home,  hardly 
younger  than  was  the  prisoner,  who  now  stood  be 
fore  the  bar  of  justice,  with  a  rope  dangling 
threateningly  above  his  head;  and  these  men  found 
it  hard  to  believe  that  that  wholesome-looking,  clear- 
eyed  youth  could  be  guilty  of  the  atrocious  crime 
charged  against  him.  But,  there  was  the  evidence ; 
and  the  laws  of  the  city  must  be  enforced ;  and  their 
faces  grew  stern  and  sad. 

Thure  told  his  story  in  a  clear  straightforward 
way ;  told  how  he  and  Bud  had  gone  out  for  a  hunt 
on  that  day,  how  they  had  heard  the  death-cry  of 
the  unfortunate  horse  and  had  slain  the  huge 
grizzly,  how,  just  after  they  had  completed  the 
skinning  of  the  grizzly,  they  had  seen  the  struggle 
of  the  old  miner  with  his  two  assailants  and  had 
rushed  to  his  rescue,  how  the  robbers  had  fled,  leav 
ing  the  miner  robbed  and  mortally  stabbed,  how 
they  had  endeavored  to  get  him  to  their  home  be 
fore  he  died,  but  had  failed,  and,  finally,  how  the 
miner  had  died  and  they  had  borne  his  dead  body 
home  and  had  buried  it. 


An  Unexpected  Witness  139 

There  was  hardly  a  loud  sound  made  while  Thure 
was  telling  his  story.  One  could  almost  have  heard 
the  great  crowd  breathing.  When  he  had  spoken 
of  witnessing  the  struggle  between  the  miner  and 
his  murderers  and  of  rushing  to  his  rescue,  there 
had  been  a  great  stir  in  the  crowd,  but  it  had  quickly 
subsided,  so  eager  were  all  to  hear  every  word  that 
he  uttered.  His  manner  and  his  story  made  a  deep 
impression ;  but,  alas,  it  was  soon  seen  that  his  evi 
dence  had  introduced  nothing  to  disprove  the  testi 
mony  of  his  two  accusers  that  had  any  stronger 
proof  back  of  it  than  his  own  word  and  the  word 
of  his  fellow  prisoner,  while  he  had  admitted  bring 
ing  the  dead  body  of  the  murdered  miner  home  and 
burying  it,  admitted  having  the  dead  body  of  the 
miner  in  his  possession.  This,  at  least,  was  in  direct 
proof  of  what  his  accusers  had  testified;  for  they 
had  sworn  that  they  had  seen  the  two  boys  bear 
the  dead  body  off  with  them.  It  looked  as  if  they 
had  made  their  story  up  to  fit  in  with  the  accounts  of 
the  previous  witnesses  and  yet  disprove  the  story  of 
their  accusers. 

Thure,  so  far  in  his  testimony,  had  said  nothing 
of  the  description  the  old  miner  had  given  of  his 
murderers.  He  was  saving  that  for  the  last,  to  be 
brought  out  by  the  questions  of  the  alcalde,  if  possi 
ble.  He  wished  to  make  it  as  emphatic  and  striking 
as  possible,  and  yet  he  did  not  wish  to  appear  to  give 
it  voluntarily;  for  he  was  wise  enough  to  see  that 
for  him  and  Bud  to  accuse  their  accusers  might  re* 


140  The  Cave  of  Gold 

act  back  on  themselves.  Fortunately  the  questions 
of  the  alcalde  led  directly  to  it. 

"You  testify/'  began  the  alcalde,  the  moment 
Thure  had  apparently  completed  his  testimony, 
"that  you  drove  the  murderers  away  from  the  body 
of  the  miner.  Did  you  get  near  enough  to  them 
to  recognize  them  again,  should  you  see  them?" 

"No,"  Thure  answered.  "I  could  only  swear 
that  one  was  a  large  man  and  that  the  other  was 
small/5 

"Did  you  discover  anything  that  would  lead  you 
to  surmise  who  committed  the  crime?"  again  asked 
the  alcalde. 

"No,  not  directly,"  answered  Thure  hesitatingly. 
"But  the  old  miner,  just  before  he  died,  gave  us  a 
description  of  his  two  murderers,"  and  he  stopped. 

"How  did  he  describe  them?  Why  do  you  hesi 
tate  ?"  asked  the  alcalde  sharply. 

"Because,"  answered  Thure  boldly,  "the  descrip 
tion  the  dying  miner  gave  of  his  two  murderers  ap 
pears  to  make  us  accuse  our  accusers,  as  if  we  were 
trying  to  get  back  at  them,  when  it  is  God's  truth 
that  we  are  uttering." 

"Give  us  the  description.  We  are  the  ones  to 
judge  of  its  merits,"  commanded  the  alcalde,  his 
face  flushing  with  interest,  while  the  surrounding 
crowd  became  breathless. 

Bud  was  looking  at  the  two  men;  and  he  saw  both 
of  them  start  at  the  words  of  Thure  and  glance  ap 
prehensively  into  each  other's  eyes. 


An  Unexpected  Witness  141 

"The  miner  said/'  and  Thure  turned  his  eyes  full 
upon  Bill  Ugger,  "that  one  of  his  murderers  was  a 
large,  red-headed  man  with  a  broken  nose ;  and  that 
the  other/'  and  his  eyes  turned  to  the  face  of  Spike 
Quinley,  "was  a  small  man,  with  a  pock-marked 
face." 

For  a  moment  no  one  spoke.  All  eyes  were  bent 
on  the  faces  of  the  two  men.  There  was  no  mis 
taking  to  whom  the  description  applied.  Then  a 
harsh  laugh  broke  from  Bill  Ugger. 

"Tryin'  to  turn  th'  tables  on  us,  be  you?"  and 
again  he  laughed.  "Wai,  I  reckon,  ever'one  here 
believes  that  yarn.  It  fits  tew  pat,  not  tew  be  true. 
So  me  an'  Spike  are  th'  true  murderers,  be  we? 
Wai,  this  is  sum  unexpected  an'  s'prisin',  ain't  it 
Spike  ?"  and  he  turned  to  his  comrade,  grinning  and 
glaring  like  a  huge  buffoon;  but  a  close  observer 
might  have  noticed  that  his  skin  had  whitened  be 
neath  its  red  beard. 

Quinley  had  started  perceptibly  at  Thure's  de 
scription  of  the  miner's  murderers,  but  he  had 
quickly  controlled  himself,  and  a  deadly  gleam  had 
come  into  his  wicked  little  eyes  and  his  thin  lips  had 
tightened,  as,  unperceived  by  all  eyes,  except  the 
eyes  the  movement  was  intended  for,  he  had  turned 
and  given  a  man  standing  in  the  edge  of  the  circle 
a  signal.  The  man  at  once  had  slipped  back  in  the 
crowd  and  vanished. 

"Powerful  s'prisin',"  and  Quinley  turned  and 
grinned  back  into  the  face  of  Ugger.  "I  reckon 


142  The  Cave  of  Gold 

you  can  already  feel  th'  rope  a-tightenin'  'round 
y'ur  neck,  can't  you,  Bill?  That  description  sart'in 
fits  us  as  pat  as  an  old  shoe.  But  th'  s'prisin'est 
thing  'bout  it  all  is,  that  I  don't  'pear  tew  have  any 
rekerlections  of  a-committin'  that  murder.  Must 
have  ben  dreamin',  when  I  done  it." 

The  eyes  of  the  alcalde,  during  this  brief  byplay, 
had  been  closely  watching  the  faces  of  the  two  men. 
He  now  turned  to  Thure  again. 

"Have  you  any  witnesses,  other  than  your  fellow 
prisoner,  to  testify  to  the  truth  of  your  statements?" 
he  asked. 

"No,"  answered  Thure ;  "except  that  our  mothers 
and  our  sisters  and  the  folks  at  the  rancho  can 
testify  to  our  bringing  home  the  body  of  the  dead 
miner  and  that  we  told  them  that  we  had  found 
him  just  as  I  have  said  that  we  did." 

"That  would  prove  nothing  as  to  who  committed 
the  murder.  Is  there  anyone  in  Sacramento  City 
that  knows  either  of  you  two  boys  ?" 

"No,"  again  answered  Thure.  "Not  that  I  know 
of,  unless,"  and  his  face  brightened,  "Captain  Sutter 
is  here.  He  knows  both  of  us  well.  We  are  ex 
pecting  to  find  our  dads  at  Hangtown." 

"Captain  Sutter  is  not  here,"  answered  the 
alcalde,  "as  anyone  in  the  city  might  have  told  you ; 
and  it  is  impossible  to  send  to  Hangtown  after  your 
fathers." 

"But,  are  we  to  be  proven  guilty  on  the  evidence 
of  those  two  men  alone,  whom  I  am  almost  certain 


An  Unexpected  Witness  143 

committed  the  crime  themselves  ?"  and  Thure's  face 
flushed  indignantly.  "Is  not  our  word,  at  least, 
as  good  as  theirs  ?" 

"Young  man/'  replied  the  alcalde  sternly,  "that 
is  for  the  jury  to  decide.  Have  you  any  further 
evidence  to  give?  If  not,  and  the  jury  do  not  wish 
to  ask  you  any  questions,"  he  paused  and  glanced 
toward  the  foreman,  who  shook  his  head,  "you  are 
dismissed,  and  the  other  prisoner  can  take  his  place 
on  the  witness  stand." 

For  a  moment  Thure  hesitated.  He  wanted  to 
say  something,  to  do  something  to  further  disprove 
this  horrible  accusation — but,  what  could  he  say 
or  do  that  he  had  not  already  said  or  done?  He 
had  told  his  story.  There  was  nothing  more  for 
him  to  tell,  nothing  more  for  him  to  do;  and,  with 
tightly  compressed  lips,  he  turned  and  walked  from 
the  witness  stand  back  to  his  place  by  the  side  of 
the  sheriff,  while  Bud  took  his  place  in  front  of  the 
barrel. 

There  was  nothing  new  in  Bud's  testimony.  He 
could  only  repeat,  in  different  words,  what  Thure 
had  already  told. 

While  Bud  was  giving  his  testimony,  Spike 
Quinley  worked  his  way  up  close  to  Thure;  and 
again  a  piece  of  paper  was  slipped  furtively  into  his 
hand. 

Thure  glanced  down  at  the  paper.  At  least  here 
was  a  chance  to  escape  the  worst.  If  Bud  did  not 
make  a  better  impression  than  he  apparently  had, 


144  The  Cave  of  Gold 

then  there  would  be  nothing  left  but  to  surrender 
the  map,  that  or  hanging.  And  it  must  be  done 
soon  now,  or  it  would  be  too  late.  Thure  shud 
dered  at  the  thought  of  the  hanging;  and,  with 
fingers  that  trembled  a  little,  cautiously  opened  the 
paper  and  read  these  dreadful  words: 

You  have  gone  and  done  it  now  you  infernal 
id  jit  by  testifin'  agin  us  it  is  now  yur  necks  or  ourn 
al  hel  kant  save  you  now  you  kan  keep  the  map 
and  we  wil  git  it  off  yur  ded  bodies  and  you  kan 
have  the  satisfackshun  of  noin  that  you  might  have 
ben  alive  and  wel  when  yur  danglin  ded  at  the  end 
of  a  rope. 

The  vindictive  scrawl  closed  with  a  rude  attempt 
to  draw  a  rope,  hanging  from  a  tree,  with  a  man 
dangling  from  one  end. 

Thure  stared  blankly  at  the  paper  for  a  moment 
after  he  had  read  the  words  that  appeared  to  close 
their  last  avenue  of  escape.  He  saw  clearly  the 
force  of  their  meaning.  It  had,  indeed,  now  be 
come  a  battle  for  life  between  him  and  Bud  and 
their  two  accusers.  Their  testimony,  once  they 
were  free,  would  turn  suspicion  directly  upon 
Quinley  and  Ugger.  It  would  be  suicidal  for  the 
two  men  now  to  attempt  to  do  anything  to  free  them. 
Thure  raised  his  eyes  and  looked  wildly  around,  at 
the  face  of  the  alcalde,  the  faces  of  the  jury,  and 
the  faces  of  the  surrounding  crowd.  On  all  was  a 
look  of  ominous  sadness  and  sternness  that  made  his 


An  Unexpected  Witness  145 

heart  sink.  Evidently  the  words  and  the  actions  of 
the  cunning  Ugger  and  the  crafty  Quinley  had 
again  completely  turned  the  tide  against  them. 
But  the  worst  blow  was  yet  to  come. 

Bud  completed  his  testimony  and,  in  an  ominous 
silence,  was  dismissed.  The  alcalde  arose  from 
his  judgment-stump  and  turned  to  address  a  few 
final  words  to  the  jury;  but,  as  the  first  word  left 
his  mouth,  a  commotion  occurred  in  the  crowd 
directly  in  front  of  him. 

"More  testimony!  Important  testimony!" 
shouted  a  voice ;  and  a  man,  with  his  right  arm  done 
up  in  a  sling,  pushed  his  way  through  the  encir 
cling  crowd. 

The  man  hastily  and  keenly  scrutinized  the  faces 
of  the  two  prisoners. 

"Yes,  them's  sart'inly  th'  fellers,"  he  said  aloud; 
and  turned  his  eyes  on  the  faces  of  their  accusers. 

"Them's  shore  th'  same  two  men  I  seed.  Thar's 
no  mistaking  them  faces,"  he  declared,  with  con- 
yiction.  "Now,"  and  he  turned  to  the  alcalde,  "I 
asks  y'ur  pardon,  y'ur  honor ;  but,  bein'  sum  crippled 
with  a  broken  arm,  as  you  can  see,  an',  on  that  ac 
count,  keepin'  sum  close  in  my  tent,  I  heared  nuthin* 
of  this  trial  'til  jest  a  few  minits  ago;  but,  when 
I  did  hear  of  it,  I  felt  mortally  sart'in  that  it  had 
tew  do  with  th'  same  murder  that  I  witness  in  th' 
Sacermento  Valley  three  days  ago ;  an',  wantin'  tew 
see  that  justice  made  no  mistake,  I  got  here  as  quick 
as  I  could,  tew  give  in  my  testimony.  Hope  I'm 


146  The  Cave  of  Gold 

not  tew  late,"  and  he  fixed  his  eyes  anxiously  on 
the  face  of  the  alcalde. 

"No;  you  are  not  too  late,"  the  alcalde  answered, 
looking  at  the  man  keenly,  "if  your  evidence  is  of 
real  importance." 

"I  reckon  it  is  of  real  importance,"  answered  the 
man,  "seein'  that  I  saw  th'  killin'  done  with  my 
own  two  eyes ;  an'  was  close  enough  tew  reckernize 
th'  killers  plain." 

This  statement  caused  a  big  sensation  in  the  sur 
rounding  crowd.  All  pressed  nearer,  and  stretched 
their  heads  eagerly  forward  to  get  a  sight  of  this 
new  witness,  while,  "Hush!"  "Quiet!"  "Shut 
your  mouth!"  and  like  expressions,  came  from  all 
around  the  crowding  circle  of  men. 

Thure  and  Bud  had  both  started  with  pleased 
[surprise  at  the  words  of  this  unexpected  witness, 
and  their  faces  lighted  up  with  hope.  Here,  at  last, 
was  a  witness  who  would  tell  the  truth,  who  would 
free  them  from  this  horrible  accusation  of  murder ; 
for,  evidently  by  his  actions,  he  was  as  much  of  a 
stranger  to  Ugger  and  Quinley  as  he  was  to  them 
selves,  and,  consequently,  he  could  not  be  in  league 
with  their  two  cunning  and  mendacious  accusers. 
They  glanced  at  the  two  men.  Their  surprise  ap 
peared  to  be  real;  and  the  two  boys  thought  they 
detected  a  look  of  fearful  consternation  on  each 
face. 

"Step  forward  and  be  sworn,"  commanded  the 
alcalde,  the  moment  the  buzz  of  the  excitement 


An  Unexpected  Witness  147 

caused  by  the  words  of  the  man  with  the  broken 
arm  had  ceased. 

The  man  stepped  quickly  in  front  of  the  barrel; 
and  was  sworn,  in  the  same  manner  the  other  wit 
nesses  had  been  sworn,  to  tell  the  truth. 

"What  is  your  name  and  business?"  demanded 
the  alcalde. 

"John  Skoonly,"  replied  the  man;  "an'  I'm  bound 
for  th'  diggin's.  Jest  got  in  from  San  Francisco 
this  mornin'." 

"Now,  John  Skoonly,"  and  the  alcalde's  eyes 
rested  steadily  on  the  witness's  face  as  he  settled 
back  on  his  stump,  "kindly  tell  the  jury  and  the 
people  gathered  here,  what  you  know  of  the  case 
now  being  tried  before  them." 

"I  was  on  my  way  from  San  Francisco  tew  here," 
began  the  witness,  "when  three  days  ago  I  wan 
dered  off  th'  main  trail  tew  do  a  little  huntin'  an' 
was  throwed  by  my  hoss  an'  broke  my  right  arm. 
That  took  all  th'  hunt  out  of  me;  an'  I  laid  down 
under  sum  trees  that  growed  'long  side  a  crik  tew 
try  an'  do  sumthin'  tew  ease  up  th'  pain  an'  tew 
git  a  little  rest  afore  I  started  back  for  th'  trail. 

"Wai,  I  reckon  I  hadn't  ben  thar  more'n  half 
an  hour,  when  I  heared  a  screech  that  fairly  lifted 
my  hat  off  my  head,  a-comin'  from  th'  open  valley, 
jest  beyont  th'  trees  whar  I  was  a-lyin'  in  th'  shade, 
an'  a-soundin'  like  sum  feller  was  gittin'  hurt 
mortal  bad.  I  jumps  up  quick  an'  runs  tew  sum 
bushes  that  growed  a-treen  me  an'  th'  sound,  an' 


148  The  Cave  of  Gold 

looks  through  'em,  a  little  cautious-like  on  account 
of  my  broken  arm,  an'  seed  three  men  a-strugglin' 
on  th'  ground  not  more'n  forty  rods  from  whar  I 
was ;  an'  th'  next  I  knowed  I  heared  a  lot  of  yellin', 
an'  seen  tew  men  jump  out  of  th'  bushes  sum  twenty 
rods  below  me,  an'  start  runnin'  for  them  fightin' 
men.  But,  afore  they'd  made  a  dozen  jumps,  tew 
of  them  men  springs  up  from  th'  ground,  th'  other 
man  didn't  'pear  tew  have  any  spring  left  in  him, 
but  lay  still,  grabs  up  their  rifles  an'  hollers  tew 
them  runnin'  men  tew  stop  sudden,  or  they'd  shoot ; 
an'  th'  men  stops  sudden,  they  havin'  only  pistols. 
Then  th'  tew  men  with  rifles  yells  for  them  tew 
git  an'  git  quick,  an'  one  on  'em  fires  his  rifle ;  an',  I 
reckon,  th'  bullet  must  have  come  close,  for  th'  tew 
men  whirled  'bout  like  they  was  sum  scart  an' 
started  back  for  th'  bushes. 

"Th'  tew  men  now  picks  up  th'  body  of  th'  third 
man,  which  hangs  limp  like  he  was  dead,  an'  flings 
it  across  th'  back  of  one  of  their  hosses  an'  ties  it 
thar.  Then  they  mounts  th'  other  tew  hosses  an' 
goes  a-ridin'  off  a-leadin'  the  hoss  with  th'  dead 
body  across  its  back  ahind  'em;  an'  in  ridin'  off, 
they  comes  within  a  dozen  rods  of  whar  I  was 
a-hidin',  an'  I  sees  'em  plain,  an'  I  was  s'prised  tew 
see  that  they  didn't  look  tew  be  much  more'n  boys ; 
an'  yit  they  'peared  tew  have  killed  a  man ! 

"Y'ur  honor,"  and  the  man  paused  and  whirled 
partly  around,  and  when  he  continued  again  his 
voice  was  very  solemn,  "as  shore  as  thar  is  a  God 


An  Unexpected  Witness  149 

in  heaven,  th'  tew  men  that  I  saw  a-ridin'  by  me, 
with  that  dead  body  on  th'  hoss  ahind  them,  are 
a-standin'  right  thar !"  and  he  pointed  straight  to 
ward  Thure  and  Bud. 

A  sound  of  horror  and  of  rage  went  up  from  the 
surrounding  crowd,  a  sound  that  had  the  promise 
of  dreadful  things  to  come  in  it. 

The  alcalde  leaped  to  his  feet,  his  face  looking 
white  and  drawn;  for  he  knew  that  now  the  two 
boys  were  doomed,  and,  somehow,  in  spite  of  all 
the  terrible  evidence,  he  could  not  look  into  their 
clear-eyed  faces  and  believe  them  guilty  of  such  a 
horrible  crime. 

"Silence !  Silence,  men !"  he  commanded,  stretch 
ing  out  both  of  his  hands  imperatively.  "Silence! 
I  have  questions,  important  questions  to  ask  the 
witness." 

Almost  instantly  the  great  crowd  became  still, 
so  anxious  were  all  now  to  hear  every  word. 

"John  Skoonly,"  and  the  alcalde  turned  to  the 
witness,  "you  swear  that  you  saw  two  men  start 
to  the  rescue  of  the  murdered  man.  Did  you  see 
these  two  men  plainly  enough  to  recognize  them 
should  you  see  them  again?" 

"Sart'in',"  replied  the  man  promptly,  and,  whirl 
ing  about,  he  pointed  to  Quinley  and  Ugger,  "Thar 
they  stand.  I'd  know  them  mugs  ag'in  anywhar," 
and  he  grinned. 

"Why,"  continued  the  alcalde,  "did  you  not  make 
your  presence  known  to  these  two  men,  at  least  after 


150  The  Cave  of  Gold 

the  murderers  had  ridden  off?  There  would  not 
have  been  any  danger  then/'  and  he  smiled  scorn 
fully;  "and  they  might  have  been  of  help  to  you 
in  your  crippled  condition." 

"Wai,"  answered  the  man  frankly,  turning  and 
looking  squarely  into  the  faces  of  Ugger  and  Quin- 
ley,  "tew  be  honest,  I  didn't  like  th'  looks  of  them 
tew  faces  none  tew  much ;  an',  as  I  had  consider'ble 
of  money  'long  with  me,  I  reckoned  'twould  be  safer 
for  me  tew  travel  alone  jest  then,  so  I  jest  sneaked 
out  'tother  side  of  th'  trees  an'  rode  back  tew  th' 
trail  alone." 

Quinley  and  Ugger  scowled  at  this  frank  ref 
erence  to  their  looks;  and  a  few  in  the  encircling 
crowd  laughed  grimly.  Plainly  there  could  be  no 
collusion  between  this  witness  and  Ugger  and 
Quinley;  and  this  apparent  fact  gave  almost  the 
positiveness  of  proven  truth  to  his  testimony,  in 
the  eyes  of  the  crowd. 

"Then,"  and  the  alcalde  looked  sharply  into  the 
face  of  the  witness,  "you  never  saw  either  William 
Ugger  or  Spikenard  Quinley,  until  you  saw  them, 
as  described  in  your  testimony,  on  the  day  of  the 
murder  ?" 

"If  y'ur  meanin'  that  little  pock-marked  runt  an' 
that  big  red-readed  feller  with  a  smashed  nose, 
a-standin'  thar,  I  sart'inly  never  did  see  them  afore 
that  identickle  moment.  Why,  I  didn't  even  know 
their  names  'til  you  spoke  'em  out." 

Again  some  of  the  crowd  laughed  in  a  grim  sort 


An  Unexpected  Witness  151 

of  a  way;  and  again  Ugger  and  Quinley  scowled 
and  glared  wrathfully  at  the  frank-spoken  witness. 

"I  am  done,"  the  alcalde  said  quietly,  turning  to 
the  jury.  "Do  you,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  wish  to 
ask  the  witness  any  questions?" 

"No,"  replied  the  foreman,  after  a  glance  into 
the  faces  of  his  fellow  jurymen.  "Your  questions 
have  brought  out  the  only  points  we  wished  to  in 
quire  about." 

"Do  the  prisoners  wish  to  ask  the  witness  any 
questions?"  and  the  alcalde  turned  to  Thure  and 
Bud. 

For  a  moment  neither  boy  spoke,  neither  boy 
moved.  The  testimony  of  this  witness,  so  different 
from  what  they  had  expected,  had  dumfounded 
them.  They  felt  that  he  had  knocked  the  last  prop 
out  from  under  their  safety;  and  all  the  horrors  of 
their  situation  had  dropped  down  on  their  spirits 
with  crushing,  numbing  force.  Their  minds,  their 
nerves,  their  very  muscles  were  paralyzed,  for  the 
moment,  by  the  sudden  and  awful  realization  that 
now  they  must  hang,  must  hang  for  a  crime  com 
mitted  by  others ! 

But  a  boy  at  eighteen  can  never  be  long  abso 
lutely  without  hope.  Surely,  surely  the  jury,  the 
alcalde  must  see  that  this  witness  had  lied,  that  all 
the  witnesses  against  them  had  lied!  They  could 
not,  they  could  not  bring  in  a  verdict  of  guilty! 
They  could  not  sentence  them,  Thure  Conroyal  and 
Bud  Randolph,  to  be  hanged!  Hanged!  The 


152  The  Cave  of  Gold 

thought  stung  them  into  life;  and  Thure  turned 
wildly  to  the  alcalde. 

"It's  a  lie !  a  lie !"  he  cried.  "It  is  all  a  lie !  They 
know  it  is  a  lie !  You  surely  must  believe  us !  We 
did  not  kill  the  miner !  We  tried  to  save  him !  In 
spite  of  all  their  lies,  you  must  believe  us !  We  are 
only  two  boys,  two  boys  without  a  friend  to  help 
us !  We  can  not  fight  against  their  cunning !  It 
is  our  word  against  their  word!  Look  at  us! 
Look  into  our  faces!  Do  we  look  like  boys  who 
would  kill  a  man?  Look  into  the  faces  of  our  ac 
cusers  !  Think,  we  have  fathers,  mothers,  brothers, 
sisters !  Oh,  you  can  not  hang  us,  you  can  not  hang 
us !  You  must  believe  us !" 

"My  boy,"  there  was  a  solemn  sternness  in  the 
voice  of  the  alcalde  as  he  spoke,  "if  you  are  guilt 
less  of  the  crime  charged  against  you,  then,  may 
God  have  mercy  on  us  and  on  you !  But  I,  the  jury, 
the  men  gathered  here  can  only  judge  of  your  guilt 
or  innocence  by  the  evidence  presented  before  us; 
and,  according  to  that  evidence,  and  not  according 
to  the  dictates  of  hearts  that  may  be  touched  by  your 
youth  and  seeming  innocence,  must  the  verdict  be 
rendered.  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,"  and  he  turned 
to  the  jury,  "the  evidence  has  now  all  been  laid  be 
fore  you ;  and  it  now  becomes  your  duty  to  determine 
the  guilt  or  the  innocence  of  the  prisoners.  May 
the  great  God  of  justice  and  mercy  direct  your  judg 
ment  aright ;  and  cause  you  to  bring  in  a  verdict  in 
accordance  with  the  real  truth !" 


CHAPTER  XII 

HAMMER  JONES 

THE  jurymen  at  once  gathered  about  the  fore 
man;  but  the  consultation  was  brief.     In  less 
than  ten  minutes  the  foreman  signified  that  the 
verdict  was  ready. 

"Sheriff,"  the  alcalde's  lips  were  tight-drawn  and 
his  face  whitened  as  he  spoke,  "bring  the  prisoners 
forward  to  hear  the  verdict  of  the  jury." 

The  jury  now  stood  together  in  line,  on  the  right 
of  the  alcalde.  The  foreman  stood  a  pace  in  front 
of  this  line. 

The  sheriff  led  Thure  and  Bud  directly  up  in 
front  of  the  line  and  within  a  couple  of  paces  of 
the  foreman;  and  there  he  halted  the  prisoners  to 
await  the  giving  of  the  verdict. 

For  a  minute  there  was  absolute  silence,  as  the 
prisoners  stood  thus  before  the  jury.  The  sur 
rounding  crowd  forgot  to  breathe.  It  seemed,  for  a 
moment,  as  if  the  alcalde  could  not  ask  the  fateful 
questions;  but,  at  last,  his  tight-drawn  lips  parted. 

"Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  are  you  ready  to  render 
your  verdict?"  he  asked. 

"We  are  ready,"  answered  the  foreman. 

153 


154  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  you  may  state  your 
verdict." 

The  foreman's  eyes  faltered  and  turned  from  the 
faces  of  the  prisoners. 

"Guilty  of  the  crime  as  charged/'  he  said,  and 
closed  his  lips  tightly,  and  turned  his  head  away. 

The  great  crowd  breathed  again ;  and  an  ominous, 
deep-toned,  shuddering  murmur  arose  from  its 
depths,  as  all  eyes  turned  toward  the  alcalde.  It 
now  became  his  duty  to  sentence  the  prisoners;  and, 
in  accordance  with  the  verdict  just  rendered,  he 
could  pronounce  but  one  sentence  — hanging. 

For  a  full  minute  the  alcalde  stood  straight  and 
silent.  He  realized  to  its  full  the  awful  irrevocable- 
ness  of  the  sentence  he  was  about  to  pronounce,  and 
a  shuddering  horror  shook  his  soul.  Never  before 
had  he  felt  like  this  when  pronouncing  a  similar 
sentence.  The  sight  of  those  two,  white,  staring, 
boyish  faces  had  unmanned  him — yet  he  must  do 
his  duty. 

"Thure  Conroyal,  Bud  Randolph — "  His  voice 
was  clear  and  firm  and  the  eyes  he  turned  on  the 
prisoners  stern  and  steady — "a  just  and  impartial 
jury  have  found  you  guilty  of  the  horrible  crime  of 
murder ;  and  it  now  becomes  my  awful  duty  to  pro 
nounce  your  sentence.  Stand  forth  and  receive 
your  sentence/' 

As  Thure  and  Bud  turned  their  white  faces  to 
ward  the  alcalde  and  stepped  forth  to  receive  their 
sentence,  a  man,  almost  a  giant  in  size,  who  had  just 


Hammer  Jones  155 

pushed  himself  through  the  crowd  to  the  inner  edge 
of  the  circle,  uttered  an  exclamation  of  surprise  and 
horror ;  and,  the  next  instant,  he  had  flung  the  men 
still  standing  between  him  and  the  open  space 
around  the  alcalde  and  the  prisoners  violently  to  one 
side,  and,  almost  in  a  bound,  had  reached  the  side  of 
the  alcalde. 

"Great  God  in  heaven,  alcalde!"  he  roared. 
"What  does  this  mean  ?"  and  he  stared  from  the  face 
of  the  alcalde  to  the  faces  of  the  two  boys,  into  whose 
dulled  eyes  had  suddenly  leaped  a  great  light  at  the 
sight  of  the  big  man. 

"Murder  and  hanging,"  answered  the  alcalde 
sternly.  "The  prisoners  have  had  a  fair  trial;  the 
jury  have  pronounced  them  guilty;  and  I  am  about 
to  sentence  them  to  be  hanged." 

"Murder !  Hanged !"  and  the  utter,  unbelieving 
astonishment  on  the  face  of  the  big  man  was  good  to 
see. 

"It's  a  lie,  a  lie !  We  never  killed  the  man !  Oh, 
Ham,  we  never  killed  the  man!  You,  surely,  will 
believe  us!"  and  Thure  and  Bud  both,  with  faces 
white  with  excitement  and  hope,  sprang  eagerly  to 
the  side  of  the  big  fellow. 

"Shut  up !  Stand  back !"  and  he  pushed  the  boys 
away.  "See  here,"  and  he  swung  around  in  front 
of  the  alcalde,  "you  know  me;  an5  you  know  I'd 
never  try  tew  save  th'  neck  of  no  criminal.  But  I 
know  them  boys,  know  their  dads  an'  mas;  an'  I 
know  they  never  committed  no  murder.  Who  seen 


156  The  Cave  of  Gold 

'em  dew  it  ?  Whar  are  th'  witnesses  ?"  and  his  eyes 
glared  around  the  circle  of  tense  faces. 

"There  they  stand,  Ham/'  and  the  alcalde  pointed 
to  the  three  witnesses,  who  at  the  sudden  appearance 
of  Hammer  Jones,  the  big  friend  of  the  two  boys, 
had  involuntarily  come  together,  as  if  for  mutual  de 
fense;  "and  each  one  of  the  three  swore  positively 
that  he  saw  the  boys  kill  the  man." 

"Huh!"  and,  almost  in  a  stride,  Hammer  Jones 
stood  directly  in  front  of  Bill  Ugger;  and,  the  in 
stant  his  eyes  looked  closely  into  the  face  of  the  man, 
his  own  face  went  white  with  wrath. 

"Hello,  Greaser  Smith!"  and  the  great  hand  fell 
on  the  shrinking  shoulder  and  gripped  the  coat  collar 
tightly.  "So  you're  one  of  th'  skunks  that's  a-tryin' 
tew  git  them  tew  boys  hanged,  be  you  ?  Rekerlect 
that  time  down  in  Sante  Fe,  when  you  was  a-goin' 
tew  skin  a  nigger  alive,  an'  wanted  tew  kill  tew 
boys  for  interf erin'  ?  Still  up  tew  yur  boyish  tricks, 
I  see.  Wai,  I've  still  got  th'  same  big  foot  that 
kicked  you  intew  th'  mudpuddle;  an'  th'  same  big 
fist  that  smashed  that  nose  of  yourn  when  you  was 
a-tryin'  tew  kiss  a  Mexican  gal  against  her  will. 
An'  now  you're  a-tryin'  tew  have  tew  innocent  boys 
hanged  for  a  murder  that  you  probably  did  yurself ," 
and  Ham's  eyes  flamed.  "You  cowardly  skunk!" 
and,  suddenly  letting  go  of  the  coat  collar,  he  took  a 
quick  step  backward,  and  swung  up  his  great  fist 
with  all  the  strength  of  his  powerful  right  arm, 
striking  the  man  squarely  under  the  chin.  The 


Hammer  Jones  157 

force  of  the  blow  lifted  Ugger,  alias  Greaser  Smith, 
off  his  feet  and  hurled  him  to  the  ground  as  sense 
less  as  a  log. 

"Now,  we'll  have  a  look  at  th'  other  witnesses/' 
and  Ham  turned  to  the  cringing  Quinley. 

"Never  seed  you  afore/7  he  declared,  as  he  looked 
into  the  pock-marked  face  of  the  trembling  man, 
whose  terrified  eyes  were  fixed  on  the  huge  fist  that 
had  so  summarily  dealt  with  his  big  partner.  "Wai, 
you  are  a  likely  lookin'  cuss  tew  be  th'  side  partner  of 
Greaser  Smith.  I  reckon  you  tew  pull  tewgether 
like  tew  mules.  I'll  have  sumthin'  special  tew  say 
tew  you  'bout  this  case,  when  I  see  who  t'other  wit 
ness  is/'  and  he  turned  to  the  man  with  the  broken 
arm,  who  had  been  looking  excitedly  around,  as  if  he 
were  searching  for  an  opening  in  the  crowd  through 
which  to  escape  and  who  now  stood  with  his  back 
toward  Hammer  Jones. 

"Here,  you,"  and  Ham  caught  him  by  the  shoul 
der  and  whirled  him  around,  "jest  give  me  a  sight  of 
yur  mug — wal,  I'll  be  durned,  if  'tain't  Skoonly!" 
and  Ham's  eyes  widened  with  surprise  and  the  angry 
glint  in  them  deepened,  while  the  man  under  the  grip 
of  his  big  hand  shook  as  if  he  had  an  ague  fit. 
"Here's  matter  for  the  alcalde.  Come,"  and  he 
started  toward  the  alcalde,  dragging  the  man  along 
with  him. 

So  sudden  had  been  Ham's  appearance  and  so 
swift  and  unexpected  were  his  actions,  that,  at  first, 
the  great  surrounding  crowd  had  stood  and  stared 


158  The  Cave  of  Gold 

at  him  in  astonishment,  making  no  move;  but,  by 
now,  they  were  beginning  to  wake  up  to  the  fact  that 
here  was  a  man  evidently  bent  on  defeating  the  ends 
of  justice;  and  an  angry  growl,  the  growl  of  a  mob, 
a  sound  once  heard  that  is  never  forgotten,  rolled  out 
from  its  midst.  But  there  were  many  men  in  that 
crowd  who  knew  Hammer  Jones,  who  had  hunted 
and  trapped  and  fought  Indians  with  him,  who  had 
seen  him  risk  his  life  fearlessly  to  save  a  comrade's 
life,  and  who  never  yet  had  known  him  to  do  a  dis 
honorable  deed ;  and  these  men  knew,  that,  if  Ham 
mer  Jones  said  that  the  prisoners  were  innocent,  he 
had  good  reasons  for  saying  it,  and  they  were  ready 
to  see  that  he  had  a  chance  to  prove  his  statement ; 
and  cries  of :  "Hurrah  for  Ham  Jones  I"  "Give  him  a 
chance  to  prove  what  he  says!"  "Hear!  Hear! 
Hear!  Ham  Jones!"  "He  shall  be  heard!" 
mingled  with  yells  of :  "String  him  up  along  with 
the  boys!"  "Bust  his  head!"  "He's  trying  to 
rescue  the  murderers !"  and  like  cries  of  rage  at  this 
unexpected  interference. 

But,  before  these  two  opposing  forces  could  come 
to  a  clash,  a  tall  spare  man,  whose  deep-set  eyes,  keen 
and  piercing  as  a  hawk's,  shone  out  of  a  weather- 
bronzed  face,  pushed  himself  hurriedly  through  the 
crowd  that  was  beginning  to  seethe  around  the  open 
court-room  beneath  the  great  evergreen  oak,  and 
hastened  to  the  side  of  the  alcalde. 

"What  is  the  trouble?"  he  demanded  in  a  quiet 
authoritative  tone  of  voice. 


Hammer  Jones  159 

The  alcalde  welcomed  him  with  a  glad  smile  of 
recognition ;  and,  as  briefly  as  possible,  told  him  what 
had  occurred. 

The  man  turned  quickly  and  the  keen  eyes  glanced, 
with  a  violent  start  of  recognition,  for  a  moment  into 
the  faces  of  the  two  boys. 

"My  God,  alcalde !"  and  he  whirled  about  in  front 
of  the  surprised  alcalde,  "you  were  about  to  make  a 
terrible  mistake!  I  know  these  boys  well;  and  I 
know  they  never  murdered  a  man. 

"Men !  Men !  Hear  me !"  and  he  leaped  lightly 
up  on  top  of  the  barrel  that  stood  in  front  of  the 
alcalde,  his  singularly  clear  and  penetrating  voice 
reaching  every  ear  in  the  crowd.  "Men!  Men! 
Hear  me !  A  terrible  mistake  has — " 

"It's  Fremont  I"  shouted  someone.  "Hurrah  for 
Colonel  Fremont!  The  man  who  licked  the  Mexi 
cans!  The  man  who  won  California  for  us! 
Hurrah  for  Colonel  Fremont !" 

The  name  acted  like  magic  in  quieting  the  fast- 
growing  turbulence  of  the  crowd.  There  was  not 
a  man  present  who  had  not  heard  of  the  dauntless 
young  explorer,  the  bold  soldier,  the  recent  con 
queror  of  California,  to  whom  more  than  to  any 
other  one  man  they  owed  the  fact  that  the  gold-dig 
gings  were  in  the  territory  of  the  United  States; 
and  all  wished  to  see  this  remarkable  man,  all  were 
ready  to  hear  what  he  had  to  say.  As  suddenly  as 
it  had  begun,  the  violence  of  the  crowd  ceased  and 
all  eyes  were  turned  toward  Fremont. 


160  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"Go  ahead,  Colonel !"  shouted  a  rough  voice. 
"Thar's  enough  of  y'ur  old  men  here  tew  see  that 
you  git  a  fair  hearin'." 

"Thank  you,  gentlemen/'  and  Fremont  bowed. 
"The  alcalde  tells  me,"  he  continued,  after  a  mo 
ment's  pause,  "that  you  have  tried  those  two  boys," 
and  he  pointed  to  Thure  and  Bud,  "for  murder,  have 
found  them  guilty,  and  were  about  to  hang  them.  I 
know  these  two  young  men,  your  prisoners,  well.  I 
know  their  fathers,  their  brothers,  have  known  them 
for  years ;  and  so  sure  am  I  that  you  have  made  a 
terrible  mistake,  that  I  am  ready,  personally,  to 
stand  accountable  for  them  until  their  innocence  has 
been  proven  to  your  complete  satisfaction." 

"But,  three  men  swore  that  they  saw  the  pris 
oners  kill  the  man,  Colonel!"  called  someone  from 
the  crowd.  "This  has  been  no  mob  trial ;  but  a  reg 
ular  court  trial  by  jury;  and  the  jury  found  them 
guilty,  unanimous." 

"Where  are  those  witnesses  ?  Let  us  have  a  look 
at  them  ?"  demanded  Fremont. 

"Here's  one  on  'em,  Colonel,"  and  the  huge  frame 
of  Hammer  Jones  loomed  uj>  in  front  of  Fremont, 
with  the  trembling  Skoonly  still  in  the  grip  of  his 
right  hand.  "I  swun,  but  I  am  glad  tew  see  you 
right  now,"  and  quickly  shifting  Skoonly  to  his  left 
hand,  he  extended  his  right  to  Fremont. 

"Ham,  Hammer  Jones!"  and  Fremont  gripped 
the  extended  hand  with  glad  cordiality.  "It's  like 
old  times  to  see  your  face  again.  But  this  is  no 


Hammer  Jones  161 

time  for  idle  talk/'  and  his  fine  face  hardened.  "So 
that  is  one  of  the  witnesses  against  Thure  and  Bud/' 
and  his  piercing  eyes  looked  searchingly  into  the 
face  of  Skoonly.  "What  did  he  swear  to?"  and 
Fremont  turned  quickly  to  the  alcalde. 

"He  swore/'  answered  the  alcalde,  "that  he  saw 
the  prisoners  kill  the  man  three  days  ago  in  the 
Sacramento  Valley — " 

"Three  days  ago!"  snorted  Ham  wrathfully. 
"He  saw  th'  prisoners  kill  a  man  three  days  ago  in 
th'  Sacermento  Valley !  Not  unless  he's  got  a  dou 
ble-barreled  long-shot  gun  ahind  him  that  can  shoot 
his  body  clean  from  Hangtown  tew  th'  Sacermento 
Valley  in  less  time  than  I  could  take  a  chaw  of  ter- 
backer;  for  three  days  ago  I  seen  this  identickle 
man,  Skoonly,  run  out  of  Hangtown  for  tryin'  tew 
steal  th'  gold-dust  of  a  sick  miner.  S'cuse  me  for 
interruptin'/'  and  Ham  turned  his  eyes,  still  glint 
ing  with  his  honest  wrath,  to  the  alcalde. 

"What!"  and  the  alcalde's  eyes  brightened  and 
his  whole  face  lightened,  as  if  a  great  load  had  been 
suddenly  lifted  off  his  soul.  "You  saw  this  man  run 
out  of  Hangtown  three  days  ago!  The  very  time 
that  he  swore  he  was  on  his  way  from  San  Fran 
cisco  to  the  diggings !  The  very  day  that  he  swore 
he  saw  the  prisoners  kill  the  miner  in  the  Sacra 
mento  Valley !" 

"Right.  He  sart'in  was  in  Hangtown  three  days 
ago.  I  reckon  I  otter  know,  seein'  I  was  one  on 
'em  tew  help  run  him  out.  Ay,  Skoonly,"  and  Ham 


1 62  The  Cave  of  Gold 

[jerked  the  cringing  man  around  in  front  of  the  al 
calde.  "Now,  what  might  be  th'  trouble  with  that 
arm?"  and  he  glared  down  at  the  bandaged  arm  of 
Skoonly,  who  had  submitted  to  all  these  indignities, 
almost  without  a  protest.  He  knew  Hammer 
Jones. 

"He  said,"  answered  the  alcalde,  "that  his  horse 
threw  him  and  broke  his  arm  a  little  while  before 
he  saw  the  murder  committed  and  that  that  was 
why  he  had  not  gone  to  the  help  of  the  miner." 

"Huh!"  and  again  Ham  snorted  scornfully,  then 
a  sudden  gleam  came  into  his  eyes,  and  he  turned 
quickly  to  the  alcalde.  "Supposing"  he  grinned, 
"you  have  that  broken  arm  investigated. 
'Twouldn't  s'prise  me  none  tew  find  it  a  durned 
good  arm  yit" 

"Good !"  and  the  alcalde  smiled.  "Skoonly  can't 
object,  because  it  will  be  a  strong  point  in  his  favor, 
if  we  find  the  arm  really  broken." 

"But  I  do  object,"  protested  Skoonly  emphatic 
ally,  his  face  becoming  livid.  "Th'  pain'll  be  sum- 
thin'  awful;  an'  doc  said  that  it  mustn't  be  taken 
out  of  the  splints  for  a  month  on  no  account." 

"Objection  overruled,"  declared  the  alcalde,  who 
had  been  watching  the  man's  face.  "Here,"  and  he 
turned  to  the  foreman  of  the  jury,  "this  appears 
like  a  proper  point  for  you  to  investigate.  I'll  turn 
him  over  to  you.  Be  careful  and  not  hurt  the  arm 
any  more  than  you  are  compelled  to,"  and  he  smiled. 

The  crowd,  which  by  this  time  had  formed  a 


Hammer  Jones  163 

close  and  deeply  interested  circle  around  the  dra 
matic  characters  in  the  little  drama  that  was  here 
being  enacted,  watched  with  tense  and  grim  faces, 
the  foreman,  aided  by  a  couple  of  his  fellow  jury 
men,  slowly  unwind  the  bandages  from  Skoonly's 
arm.  If  they  had  been  fooled,  if  they  had  been  led 
by  false  testimony  almost  to  hang  two  innocent  men, 
nay,  boys,  their  wrath  against  the  false  accusers 
would  be  sudden  and  terrible. 

Skoonly  yelled  and  squirmed,  when  they  began 
unwinding  the  bandages  from  his  arm,  as  if  the  ac 
tion  caused  him  the  most  intense  pain,  and  begged 
them  to  stop,  while  his  face  grew  so  white  that  even 
Ham  himself  began  to  fear  that  the  arm,  at  least, 
bore  no  false  testimony;  but  the  unwinding  went 
steadily  on. 

And,  lo  and  behold!  when  the  last  bandage  was 
off,  there  lay  the  arm,  sound  of  bone,  and  without 
even  a  bruise  or  discoloration  along  its  whole 
length! 

"Wai,  I'll  be  durned!  Jest  as  I  thought!  The 
cur !  An'  that  is  th'  kind  of  evidence  you  was  a-go- 
in'  tew  hang  them  boys  on !"  and  Ham's  angry  eyes 
swept  the  circle  of  surrounding  faces. 

A  murmur,  that  swiftly  swelled  into  a  roar  of 
hundreds  of  angry  voices,  broke  from  the  surround 
ing  crowd,  when  Ham's  testimony  and  the  result  of 
the  examination  of  Skoonly's  bandaged  arm  became 
known. 

"A  rope!     Get  a  rope!     Hang  him!"  yelled  a 


1 64  The  Cave  of  Gold 

hoarse  voice ;  and  the  cry  was  taken  up  by  hundreds 
of  voices;  and  the  jam  of  enraged  men  pressed 
closer  and  closer  to  the  cowering  man,  whose  face 
grew  livid  with  fear,  as  he  glared  wildly  around, 
seeking  some  means  of  escape.  But  there  was  none ; 
and  despair  and  a  great  dread,  the  dread  of  a  sud 
den  and  frightful  death,  took  possession  of  his  soul. 

"Save  me !  Save  me !"  he  yelled,  throwing  him 
self  at  Fremont's  feet.  "I  did  not  mean  tew  git 
th'  boys  hanged.  They,  Bill  an'  Spike,  told  me 
'twas  jest  tew  scare  them.  They  was  a-tryin'  tew 
frighten  th'  boys  intew  doin'  sumthin'  for  them — 
Oh-h-h,  don't  let  them  git  me !  Save  me !"  and  he 
clutched  Fremont's  legs  with  both  his  quivering 
hands,  as  the  roar  of  the  crowd  became  louder  and 
more  threatening. 

"Quick,"  and  Fremont  bent  over  him,  "will 
you  tell  all,  all  that  you  know  of  this  horrible  affair, 
if  we  will  save  your  neck?" 

"Yes !  Yes !"  eagerly  agreed  the  terror-stricken 
man.  "I'll  tell  ever'thing!  Afore  God  I'll  tell 
ever'thing!  It's  Bill  an'  Spike  who  is  responsible, 
not  me.  It's  them  you  want." 

"Men,"  and  Fremont  again  leaped  up  on  top  of 
the  barrel,  both  hands  outstretched  for  silence. 
"Listen,  men,  listen !" 

For  a  minute  the  roar  of  the  crowd  continued, 
and  then  swiftly  subsided,  as  all  eyes  caught  sight 
of  the  tall  figure  of  Fremont  standing  on  the  barrel 
top. 


Hammer  Jones  165 

"Make  your  words  few  and  to  the  point,  Colonel. 
This  is  no  time  for  speech-making,"  warned  a  voice 
from  the  crowd.  "We  want  to  get  hold  of  the 
skunk  who  was  willing  to  falsely  swear  away  the 
lives  of  two  boys." 

"My  words  will  be  few  and  to  the  point/'  Fre 
mont  began,  his  clear  penetrating  voice  reaching 
every  ear  in  the  crowd.  "Skoonly  will  confess 
everything,  if  you  will  spare  his  neck.  He  appears 
to  have  been  but  the  tool  of  the  other  two  men ;  and 
we  will  need  his  testimony  to  make  out  a  case 
against  them  and  to  prove  to  the  satisfaction  of  all, 
the  innocence  of  the  two  boys.  Under  these  cir 
cumstances,  it  would  seem  to  be  best  to  allow  him  to 
go  free,  providing  he  makes  a  clean  breast  of  every 
thing  he  knows  concerning  this  case." 

"And  further  providing"  supplemented  Ham, 
"that  he  be  warned  never  ag'in  tew  show  his 
cowardly  face  in  Sacermento  City  or  any  minin'- 
camp  in  Calaforny,  under  penalty  of  instant 
hanginV 

"An'  that  he  be  given  a  hoss-licken,  jest  afore 
lettin'  him  go,"  added  a  roughly  dressed  miner, 
standing  near  the  inner  edge  of  the  circle. 

Growlingly,  like  a  hungry  dog  driven  from  a 
bone,  the  crowd  at  length  agreed  to  this  disposal 
of  Skoonly;  and  the  wretched  man,  with  much 
faltering  and  many  terrified  glances  around  the  en 
closing  circle  of  grim  faces,  told  how,  for  a  thou 
sand  dollars  in  gold-dust,  he  had  agreed  to  help 


1 66  The  Cave  of  Gold 

Quinley  and  Ugger  out  with  his  testimony,  if  they 
needed  it;  how  he  and  the  two  scoundrels  had 
planned  out  the  whole  thing  the  night  before  and 
were  on  the  lookout  for  the  boys  that  morning; 
how  he  had  remained  in  a  near-by  saloon,  with  his 
manufactured  broken  arm  all  ready,  waiting  for 
a  summons  from  the  two  men;  and  how,  at  last, 
the  summons  had  come  and  he  had  given  in  his 
testimony,  according  to  agreement.  He  declared 
that  the  two  men  had  told  him  that  they  only  wished 
to  frighten  the  two  boys  into  giving  up  something, 
he  did  not  know  what,  that  really  belonged  to  them, 
and  had  assured  him  there  would  be  no  danger  of 
getting  the  boys  hanged,  that  they  would  be  sure 
to  yield  before  it  got  to  that  point.  About  the 
murder  of  the  miner  he  knew  nothing,  except  that 
Spike  Quinley  and  Bill  Ugger  had  told  him  that 
they  had  killed  the  man  themselves,  and  had  showed 
him  the  money-belt,  still  heavy  with  gold-dust,  that 
they  had  taken  from  him — 

"Great  guns!"  broke  in  Ham  excitedly,  at  this 
moment,  "if  we  ain't  plum  forgot  them  tew  vil 
lains,"  and  he  made  a  mad  break  through  the  crowd 
in  the  direction  of  the  spot  where  he  had  left  Quin 
ley  and  Ugger. 

In  an  instant  the  wildest  excitement  prevailed; 
and  hundreds  of  men  were  rushing  about  excitedly, 
looking  for  the  two  scoundrels.  But  Quinley  and 
Ugger  were  wise  in  their  wickedness,  and  seeing, 
with  fear-enlightened  eyes,  the  results  of  the  ad- 


Hammer  Jones  167 

vent  of  Hammer  Jones  and  Colonel  Fremont,  had 
taken  advantage  of  the  excitement  attending  the 
examination  of  Skoonly,  to  disappear  so  suddenly 
and  completely,  that,  although  Sacramento  City 
was  searched  all  that  day  and  that  night,  as  with 
a  fine-toothed  comb,  not  a  sign  nor  hair  of  either 
man  could  be  found;  and  the  enraged  crowd  had 
to  be  satisfied  with  giving  Skoonly  the  promised 
"hoss-licken,"  and  running  him  out  of  town  the 
next  morning,  with  a  warning  never  to  show  his 
cowardly  face  on  their  streets  again,  unless  he  was 
looking  for  the  job  of  dancing  the  hangman's  horn 
pipe  at  the  end  of  a  rope. 

The  excitement  and  the  confusion  and  the  swift 
scattering  of  the  crowd,  attending  the  search  for 
the  two  scoundrels,  of  course  ended  the  trial  of 
Thure  Conroyal  and  Bud  Randolph  for  the  murder 
of  John  Stackpole ;  and  they  stood  free  and  worthy 
men  in  the  sight  of  all  people  once  more — and  with 
the  skin  map  still  in  their  possession. 

"Great  Moses !  but  I  was  glad  to  see  you,  Ham !" 
declared  Thure,  as  he  gripped  his  big  friend's  hand, 
after  some  of  the  excitement  had  quieted  down. 

"Glad!  Glad  is  no  name  for  my  feelings,  when 
I  saw  your  great  body  loom  up  by  the  side  of  the 
alcalde,"  and  Bud  gripped  his  other  hand. 

"I  reckon  you  was  some  pleased  tew  see  me/' 
grinned  back  Ham,  "both  on  you,"  and  the  hearty 
grip  of  his  big  hands  made  both  boys  wince. 

"Colonel,  Colonel  Fremont!"  and  Thure  broke 


1 68  The  Cave  of  Gold 

away  from  Ham's  hand  to  rush  up  to  Fremont,  who 
was  talking  with  the  alcalde.  '"I — we  can  never 
thank  you  enough  for  coming  so  splendidly  to  our 
help." 

"Then  do  not  try,"  smiled  back  Fremont.  "My 
boy,"  and  he  gripped  Thure's  hand,  as  his  face 
sobered,  "I  have  not  forgotten  a  certain  night,  some 
three  years  ago,  near  the  shores  of  Lake  Klamath, 
when  an  Indian  stood  with  bow  bended  and  arrow 
aimed  at  my  breast;  nor  the  skill  and  quickness  of 
the  boy,  whose  bullet  struck  and  killed  the  Indian 
before  his  fingers  could  loose  the  arrow.1  I  fancy 
that  I  have  not  yet  discharged  my  full  debt  to  that 
boy." 

"That — that  was  nothing,"  stammered  Thure,  his 
face  flushing  with  pleasure  to  think  that  Fremont 
still  remembered  the  incident.  "But  this —  Think 
of  the  terrible  death  you  helped  save  us  from !"  and 
Thure  shuddered. 

"Yes,  it  was  terrible,"  and  Fremont's  eyes  rested 
kindly  on  the  face  of  the  boy,  "but,  think  no  more 
about  it  now,"  he  added  quickly,  as  he  saw  how 
swiftly  the  color  had  fled  from  his  face  at  the 
thought  of  the  dreadful  peril  he  had  just  escaped. 
"Come,"  and  he  turned  briskly  to  Ham,  "I  wish  you, 
and  the  two  boys,  and  the  alcalde,  if  he  will  do  us 
the  honor,  to  dine  with  me.  I  have  an  hour  at  my 

1  A  full  account  of  this  incident,  the  saving  of  Fremont's  life  by 
Thure,  is  given  in  the  preceding  book  of  this  series,  Fighting  with 
Fremont. 


Hammer  Jones  169 

disposal  before  I  must  leave  the  city;  and  I  know 
of  no  better  way  of  spending  it  than  in  your  com 
pany.  Besides,  I  am  hungry,  and  I  am  sure  you 
are,  also,  after  all  this  excitement,  now  happily 
over.  So,  fall  in,"  and  he  smiled,  as  he  gave  the 
once  familiar  command. 

The  alcalde  begged  to  be  excused,  on  account  of 
other  matters  that  demanded  his  immediate  atten 
tion;  but  Ham  and  the  two  boys,  with  answering 
smiles  on  their  faces,  "fell  in" ;  and,  under  the  com 
mand  of  Fremont,  charged  down  on  the  City  Hotel, 
where  their  generous  host  entertained  them  lav 
ishly  on  the  costly  viands  of  that  expensive  hostelry, 
while  he  and  Ham  talked  of  old  times,  of  the  perils 
and  hardships  and  joys  they  had  shared  on  those 
wonderful  exploring  expeditions  that  had  brought 
a  world-wide  fame  to  the  then  young  lieutenant, 
and  the  two  delighted  boys  listened,  until  it  became 
time  for  Colonel  Fremont  to  go. 

"Our  dads  will  never  forget  what  you  have  done 
for  us,  Colonel,"  Thure  said,  as  he  grasped  Fre 
mont's  hand  in  farewell. 

"I  may  soon  put  them  to  the  test,"  smiled  back 
Fremont,  "by  giving  them  an  opportunity  to  vote 
for  me,  when  we  get  our  state  goverment  or 
ganized." 

"You  sure  can  count  on  all  our  votes,"  declared 
Thure  eagerly;  "that  is,  as  soon  as  Bud  and  I  are 
old  enough  to  vote." 

"Thank    you,"    laughed    Fremont,    and    added 


170  The  Cave  of  Gold 

quickly,  his  face  sobering.  "And  it  is  an  honor  to 
any  man  to  receive  the  votes  of  men  like  your 
fathers  and  Ham  here  and  you  two  boys,  even  in 
prospect,  an  honor,  that,  believe  me,  I  appreciate/' 
and  the  light  in  his  forceful  eyes  deepened,  as  if 
he  were  seeing  visions  of  the  future.  "But,  I  must 
be  off.  Remember  me  to  your  fathers  and  to  all 
the  others,"  and  he  sprang  lightly  on  to  the  back 
of  his  horse,  near  which  he  had  been  standing  dur 
ing  these  words,  and  galloped  off  down  the  street 
toward  the  ferry. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

EXPLANATIONS 

f  4T  X  7AL,  now,"  and  Ham  turned  a  puzzled  and 
*  *  frowning  face  on  the  two  boys,  the  moment 
Colonel  Fremont  had  vanished  down  the  street, 
"what  are  you  tew  yunks  a-dewin'  in  Sacremento 
City?  A-tryin'  tew  git  yur  necks  stretched,  you 
blamed  idgits?  Til  be  durned,  if  I  wouldn't  like 
tew  spank  both  on  you !"  and  the  frown  on  his  face 
deepened.  "I—"  * 

"Oh,  Ham,"  broke  in  Thure  excitedly,  "we've  got 
the  most  wonderful  story  to  tell !  And  it  all  comes 
from  that  murdered  miner,  who,  before  he  died, 
told  us  about  a  wonderfully  rich  mine  that  he  had 
discovered ;  and  it  was  to  get  the  map  to  this  mine 
that  those  two  dreadful  men  tried  to  get  us 
hanged — " 

"Whoa — up!  Jest  pull  up  y'ur  hosses  a  bit," 
and  Ham  stared  in  astonishment  at  the  excited  boy. 
"You're  a-goin'  tew  fast  for  me  tew  keep  up. 
Come  'long  back  intew  th'  hotel,  an'  tell  me  y'ur 
story  straight,  not  in  jerks  an'  chunks,"  and  he  led 
the  way  back  into  the  City  Hotel,  and  to  a  quiet 
corner  in  the  big  waiting-room,  where  they  could 
talk  undisturbed  and  unheard. 

171 


172  The  Cave  of  Gold 

Here,  in  low  but  excited  voices  and  after  exact 
ing  promises  of  the  utmost  secrecy,  Thure  and  Bud 
told  their  wonderful  story  to  Ham. 

"Wai,  I'll  be  tee-totally  durned,  if  it  don't  sound 
good !"  declared  that  worthy,  when,  at  last,  the  tale 
had  been  completed.  "But  thar's  lots  of  mighty 
good  soundin'  yarns  goin'  'round  camp,  'bout  won 
derful  gold  mountains  an'  caves  of  gold.  How- 
somever,  I  never  heer'd  tell  on  anybudy's  really 
findin'  any  on  'em;  an',  I  reckon,  'most  on  'em  is 
jest  lies.  But  that  thar  map  seems  tew  give  y'ur 
yarn  a  look  like  th'  truth;  an',  I  reckon,  them  tew 
skunks  must  have  believed  th'  yarn,  or  they  wouldn't 
have  ben  so  pow'f ul  anxious  tew  git  th'  map.  Gosh, 
if  it  should  prove  true!"  and  Ham's  eyes  widened 
and  his  cheeks  flushed  and  he  drew  in  a  deep  breath. 
"I'll  be  durned,  if  it  should  prove  true,  if  I  don't 
go  back  tew  my  old  home  in  Vermont,  that  I  ain't 
seen  since  I  was  a  yunk  'bout  y'ur  age,  an'  buy  up 
th'  old  farm,  an'  build  a  big  house  on  it,  an' — Gosh, 
a'mighty,  if  that  yarn  of  y'urn  ain't  sot  me  tew 
dreamin' !"  and  Ham  came  back  to  the  earth,  look 
ing  a  bit  foolish.  "More'n  likely  it's  all  a  lie;  an' 
thar  I  was  a  buyin'  farms  an'  a-buildin'  houses! 
Queer  how  th'  gold  gits  intew  th'  blood  an'  makes 
all  humans  tarnal  idgits,  now  ain't  it  ?"  and  he  shook 
his  head  wonderingly. 

"But,  there's  the  map,  and  the  big  gold  nugget, 
and  all  the  gold  that  the  murderers  got  from  him," 
protested  Thure.  "He  must  have  found  some  kind 


Explanations  173 

of  a  mine  to  have  got  that  gold;  and  crazy  folks 
wouldn't  draw  real  maps  of  the  gold-diggings  they 
only  imagined  they  had  discovered." 

"An'  you've  got  that  map,  an'  that  hunk  of  gold 
with  you?"  and  again  the  eager  light  shone  in 
Ham's  eyes.  "Wai,  I  reckon  I'd  like  tew  have  a 
look  at  that  nugget  an'  map." 

"But,  not  here,"  interjected  Bud  anxiously,  as 
he  glanced  suspiciously  around  the  big  room  at  a 
number  of  roughly  dressed  men,  who  were  stand 
ing  in  front  of  the  bar  or  seated  at  tables  playing 
cards.  "I  think  that  we  had  better  wait  until  we 
get  to  our  dads,  before  we  show  up  the  map  and 
the  nugget.  We  can't  be  too  careful.  Now,  how 
comes  it  that  you  are  in  Sacramento  City,  Ham?" 
and  the  eyes  of  both  boys  turned  inquiringly  to  the 
face  of  their  big  friend. 

"Reckon  you're  right  'bout  th'  map  an'  nugget," 
admitted  Ham  reluctantly.  "Leastwise  I  don't 
blame  you  for  bein'  some  keerful  after  y'ur  late 
experience,"  and  his  own  eyes  glanced  sharply  about 
the  room.  "Now,  as  tew  my  bein'  here,  that's  soon 
explained.  Y'ur  dads  an'  th'  rest  sent  me  in  tew 
git  a  load  of  camp-supplies — flour,  bacon,  sugar, 
coffee  an'  sech  like  things  tew  eat,  'long  with  some 
diggin'  tools  an'  extra  clothin'.  Got  in  a  leetle 
afore  noon ;  an',  heerin'  thar  was  a  murder  trial  on 
in  th'  hoss-market,  I  hit  th'  trail  for  th'  market 
tew  once,  bein'  some  anxious  tew  see  who  was 
a-goin'  tew  have  their  necks  stretched.  Wai,  if  I 


174  The  Cave  of  Gold 

didn't  'most  have  tew  push  my  heart  back  down 
my  throat  with  my  fist,  when  I  seed  that  you  tew 
yunks  was  th'  criminals !" 

"But  you  made  things  hum,  when  you  got 
started,"  and  the  eyes  of  Bud  glowed  with  admira 
tion,  as  they  rested  on  the  face  of  his  big  friend. 
"You  just  straightened  things  out  in  no  time.  My, 
but  it  did  do  me  good  to  see  you  give  Brokennose 
that  punch  on  the  jaw!" 

"Same  here,"  grinned  Ham.  "But  it  riled  me 
all  up  tew  have  them  tew  curs  git  away.  If  ever 
I  lay  my  eyes  on  either  one  on  'em  ag'in,"  and  his 
eyes  glinted  savagely,  "thar  won't  be  no  need  of 
no  rope  tew  hang  'em,  th'  cowardly  murderin' 
skunks !"  and  he  banged  his  great  fist  down  on  the 
table  so  hard  that  nearly  every  one  in  the  room 
jumped  and  turned  their  eyes  curiously  in  his 
direction. 

For  a  few  minutes  longer  Ham  and  the  two  boys 
sat  talking  together,  then  Ham  suddenly  straight 
ened  up. 

"Wai,  if  I  ain't  forgettin'  all  'bout  them  supplies 
in  th'  excitement,"  he  said,  hurriedly  rising. 
"Come  on,  yunks,  I've  got  tew  hustle  an'  make  all 
them  purchases  afore  night;  for  we've  got  tew  git 
out  of  here  afore  sun-up  tew-morrer,"  and  Ham  led 
the  way  out  of  the  hotel,  to  where  he  had  left  a 
couple  of  sturdy  little  pack-horses  tied  to  the  trees, 
when  he  had  rushed  off  to  see  the  hanging. 


Explanations  175 

An  open  space,  under  the  overhanging  branches 
of  a  huge  evergreen  oak,  was  now  selected  for  the 
camp  for  the  night;  and  hither  Ham  and  the  two 
boys  brought  their  horses,  and,  after  unsaddling 
and  unbridling  them,  gave  them  a  scanty  supply  of 
grass,  bought  at  fifty  cents  a  big  hand  full,  and  a 
little  barley,  at  a  dollar  a  quart.  Then  Bud,  the 
two  boys  had  drawn  cuts  to  see  who  should  stay, 
was  left  to  watch  the  camp,  and  Ham  and  Thure 
started  out  to  make  the  needed  purchases. 

The  shops  were  crowded  with  men  buying  goods 
to  take  with  them  to  the  gold-mines,  or  diggings,  as 
the  mines  were  almost  universally  called,  and  pay 
ing  for  them  with  gold-dust,  the  name  given  to  the 
fine  particles  of  rough  gold  dug  out  of  the  ground, 
at  the  rate  of  about  sixteen  dollars  to  the  ounce  of 
gold.  On  every  counter  stood  a  pair  of  scales,  with 
which  to  weigh  the  gold;  and  it  was  a  curious  sight 
to  Thure  to  see  these  men,  whenever  they  bought 
anything,  pull  out  a  little  bag  or  other  receptacle, 
take  out  a  few  pinches  of  what  looked  like  grains  of 
coarse  yellow  sand,  and  drop  them  on  the  scales, 
until  the  required  weight  was  reached,  in  payment 
for  the  purchase.  Ham,  himself,  had  only  gold- 
dust  with  which  to  make  his  payments ;  and  it  made 
Thure  feel  quite  like  a  real  miner,  when  he  handed 
the  little  gold-bag  to  him  and  told  him  to  attend  to 
the  paying,  while  he  did  the  selecting  of  the  goods 
needed. 


176  The  Cave  of  Gold 

By  sundown  all  the  purchases  were  made  and 
carried  to  the  camp  and  everything  made  ready  for 
an  early  start  in  the  morning. 

After  supper — they  got  their  own  suppers,  all  de 
ciding  that  the  food  at  the  hotels  was  too  rich  for 
their  blood,  or,  rather,  pockets — Thure  and  Bud, 
boy-like,  notwithstanding  their  weariness,  wanted 
to  take  a  little  stroll  about  the  town;  but  Ham 
promptly  and  emphatically  vetoed  any  such  a  move 
on  their  part. 

"I'll  be  durned  if  you  dew!"  he  declared  de 
cisively,  the  instant  the  subject  was  broached. 
"You'll  stay  right  here  in  camp,  an'  crawl  intew 
y'ur  blankets,  an'  git  tew  sleep  jest  as  quick  as  th' 
good  Lord'll  let  you.  You  shore  have  had  all  th' 
excitement  you  need  for  one  day ;  an'  th'  devil  only 
knows  what  trouble  you'd  be  a-gettin'  intew,  if  you 
was  allowed  tew  run  loose,  promiscus  like,  about 
th'  streets  of  Sacermento  City  at  night.  It's  bad 
enough  by  day,  as  you  sart'in  otter  know;  but  by 
night!  Not  for  tew  yunks  like  you!"  and  Ham 
shook  his  head  so  decidedly  and  frowningly  that 
neither  boy  ventured  even  a  word  in  protest  against 
his  rather  arbitrary  decision. 

But,  although  they  remained  in  camp,  Thure  and 
Bud  never  forgot  that  first  night  in  Sacramento 
City.  The  scenes  about  them  were  so  unique,  so 
weirdly  and  romantically  beautiful,  so  suggestive  of 
dramatic  possibilities,  that  they  impressed  them 
selves  indelibly  on  memories  new  to  such  sensations. 


Explanations  177 

As  the  sun  went  down  a  gray  chill  fog  arose  from 
the  river  and  the  lowlying  shores  and  fell  down 
over  the  little  city  like  a  thin  wet  veil,  blurring  and 
softening  and  reddening  the  light  from  the  innumer 
able  camp-fires,  built  under  the  dark  shadows  of 
overhanging  trees,  and  the  broad  glows  coming 
from  canvas  houses  and  tents,  lighted  from  within, 
and  the  bright  glares  that  poured  through  the  doors 
and  windows  of  the  more  brilliantly  illuminated 
dance-halls  and  gambling-hells,  giving  to  all  a  weird 
and  dream-like  aspect,  fascinating,  romantic,  and 
beautiful. 

Their  camp  was  situated  some  distance  from  the 
center  of  the  city's  activities;  but  near  enough  for 
the  sounds  of  its  wild  revelries  to  reach  their  ears, 
softened  a  little  by  the  distance.  A  dozen  or  more 
bands  were  playing  a  dozen  or  more  different  tunes 
from  a  dozen  or  more  different  dance-halls,  all  near 
together  along  the  levee  and  the  neighboring  streets ; 
and,  sometimes,  high  above  even  these  discordant 
sounds,  rose  the  human  voice,  in  loud  song,  or 
boisterous  shout,  or  peals  of  rough  laughter. 
Around  some  of  the  near-by  camp-fires  men  had 
gathered  and  were  singing  the  loved  home  melodies ; 
and  from  one  of  these  groups  came  the  voice  of  a 
woman  in  song,  sounding  singularly  sweet  and  en 
trancing  in  the  midst  of  all  those  harsher  sounds. 
Above  their  heads  a  gentle  wind  blew  murmuringly 
and  whisperingly  through  the  wide-spreading 
branches  of  the  evergreen  oak;  and,  at  their  feet, 


1 78  The  Cave  of  Gold 

snapped  and  crackled  the  ruddy  flames  of  their  own 
camp-fire. 

By  nine  o'clock  the  lights  of  the  surrounding 
camp-fires  began  to  grow  dimmer,  and  the  songs 
and  the  laughter  and  the  talking  of  the  groups 
around  them  ceased.  All  these  were  seeking  their 
beds  or  blankets;  and  soon  only  the  noise  and  the 
music,  the  songs  and  the  shouts  of  the  revelers 
broke  the  stillness  of  the  night. 

For  a  little  while,  before  closing  their  eyes  in 
(sleep,  Thure  and  Bud  lay  in  their  blankets  listen 
ing  to  these  distant  sounds  of  wild  revelry. 

Suddenly,  above  the  music,  above  the  songs  and 
the  shouts  and  the  laughter,  rang  out  the  sharp — 
crack — crack — of  two  pistol  shots,  followed  by  an 
instant's  lull  in  the  sounds ;  and  then  the  music,  the 
songs,  the  shouts,  and  the  laughter  went  on,  louder 
and  madder  than  ever. 

At  the  sound  of  the  pistol  shots  both  boys  had 
leaped  out  of  their  blankets  and  stood  listening  in 
tently  ;  but  Ham  had  only  grunted  and  rolled  over 
in  his  blanket. 

"Ham!  Ham!  Did  you  hear  that?"  called 
Thure  excitedly.  "Someone  must  have  been  shot !" 

"Shut  up,  an'  crawl  back  intew  y'ur  blankets," 
growled  Ham.  "  'Tain't  none  of  our  business,  if 
some  fool  did  git  shot.  It's  probably  some  drunken 
row.  Whiskey's  'most  always  back  of  every 
shootin'  scrap.  It  beats  me,"  and  the  growl  deep 
ened,  "how  full-growed  men,  with  full-growed 


Explanations  179 

brains,  can  put  a  drop  of  that  stuff  intew  their 
mouths,  after  they've  once  seen  what  it  does  tew 
a  feller's  interlect,  makin'  a  man  intew  a  bloody 
brute  or  a  dirty  beast  or  a  grinnin'  monkey ;  an'  yit, 
th'  best  an'  th'  wisest  on  'em  goes  right  on  drinkin' 
it.  It  shore  gits  me!  Now,"  and  he  turned  his 
wrath  again  on  the  two  boys,  "git  right  back  intew 
y'ur  blankets,  an'  shut  y'ur  mouths  an'  y'ur  eyes, 
an'  keep  'em  shut  till  mornin',"  and  once  again  and 
with  a  final  deep  rumbling  growl,  he  rolled  over 
in  his  blanket  and  lay  still. 

Thure  and  Bud  crawled  slowly  back  into  their 
blankets;  and,  at  last,  with  the  sounds  of  the  dis 
tant  revelry  still  ringing  in  their  ears,  fell  asleep. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  LUCK  OF  DICKSON 

THE  next  morning,  a  good  hour  before  sunrise, 
Thure  and  Bud  found  themselves  suddenly 
tumbled  out  of  their  blankets  and  the  grinning  face 
of  Ham  bending  over  them. 

"Sleepyheads!"  and,  reaching  down,  he  gripped 
each  boy  by  his  coat  collar,  the  night  had  been  chilly 
and  both  had  slept  in  their  coats,  jerked  him  to  his 
feet  and  shook  him  violently,  "Wake  up !"  and,  sud 
denly  letting  go,  he  sent  both  boys  staggering  from 
him.  "Thar,  them's  my  patented  double- j'inted 
yunk-wakers,"  and  he  shook  both  of  his  big  fists  in 
the  faces  of  the  two  boys,  "warranted  tew  wake 
th'  soundest  sleepin'  yunk  that  ever  rolled  himself 
up  in  a  blanket,  in  seven  an'  three-quarters  seconds 
by  th'  watch,  or  money  refunded.  For  testimonials, 
see  Bud  Randolph  and  Thure  Conroyal,"  and  the 
grin  broadened  on  his  face,  until  it  threatened  to 
engulf  all  his  features. 

"It  sure  does  the  waking  all  right,"  laughed 
Thure;  "and  you  can  have  my  testimony  to  that 
effect  any  time  you  wish  it." 

For  an  hour  all  hands  were  busy,  getting  the 
breakfast,  eating,  packing  and  saddling  and  bri- 

180 


The  Luck  of  Dickson  181 

dling  the  horses;  and  then,  just  as  the  sun,  like  a 
great  globe  of  gold,  rose  above  the  gold-filled  moun 
tains  of  their  hopes  to  the  east  and  shone  down  on 
the  waters  of  the  Sacramento,  Ham  gave  the  word 
to  start,  and,  leading  one  of  his  well-loaded  pack- 
horses  on  either  side  of  him,  he  strode  off,  headed 
for  the  rough  trail  to  Hangtown,  followed  by  Thure 
and  Bud,  driving  their  pack-horses  before  them. 

As  they  passed  along  by  the  various  camps  in 
the  outskirts  of  the  town,  a  man,  holding  a  long- 
handled  frying-pan  over  the  coals  of  his  camp-fire, 
looked  up  and  then  remarked  casually : 

"Queer  shootin'  scrap  that  down  on  the  levee  last 
night!" 

"Heer'd  th'  shootin',  but  that's  all  I  heer'd,"  an 
swered  Ham,  halting  for  a  moment.  "What  might 
thar  be  queer  'bout  it?" 

"Both  on  'em  bosum  friends  'til  they  gits  a  lot 
of  French  Ike's  whiskey  down  'em.  Then  one  calls 
t'other  a  liar,  an'  both  on  'em  pulls  their  guns  an* 
shoots;  an'  both  on  'em  falls  dead,  th'  bullets  goin' 
through  th'  heart  of  each  one  on  'em,"  answered 
the  man. 

"Hump!  Nuthin'  queer  'bout  that!"  grunted 
Ham.  "That's  a  common  thing  for  whiskey  tew 
dew.  Git  up !"  and  he  continued  on  his  way. 

The  trail  to  Hangtown,  after  leaving  the  Sacra 
mento  Valley,  entered  the  rough  and  picturesque 
regions  of  the  western  slopes  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
Mountains,  where  the  traveling  was  slow  and  dif- 


182  The  Cave  of  Gold 

ficult,  especially  with  heavily  loaded  pack-horses; 
and,  although  the  distance  from  Sacramento  City, 
as  the  crow  flies,  was  scarcely  more  than  forty 
miles,  yet  it  was  not  until  near  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon  of  the  third  day  that  our  friends  came 
in  sight  of  the  rude  log  cabins  and  tents  of  Hang- 
town.  They  had  climbed  to  the  summit  of  a  par 
ticularly  rough  hill  and  had  just  rounded  a  huge 
pile  of  rocks,  when  Ham  brought  his  pack-horses 
to  a  sudden  halt. 

"Thar's  Hangtown,"  he  said,  and  pointed  down 
the  steep  side  of  the  hill  into  what  was  little  more 
than  a  wide  ravine,  where  a  number  of  rudely  built 
log  houses  and  dirty-looking  tents  lay  scattered 
along  the  sides  and  the  bottom  of  the  declivity  and 
men  could  be  seen  at  work  with  picks  and  shovels, 
digging  up  the  hard  stony  ground,  or,  with  gold- 
pans  in  their  hands,  washing  the  dirt  thus  dug  in 
the  waters  of  the  little  creek  that  flowed  through 
the  bottom  of  the  ravine. 

"Hurrah !"  yelled  both  boys,  taking  off  their  hats 
and  swinging  them  around  their  heads  the  moment 
their  eyes  caught  sight  of  the  houses  and  the  tents. 

"At  last  we  are  where  gold  is  being  actually  dug 
up  out  of  the  ground!"  exclaimed  Thure  enthusi 
astically,  a  moment  later,  as  he  sat  on  the  back  of 
his  horse,  watching,  with  glowing  face  and  eyes, 
the  men  of  the  pick  and  the  shovel  toiling  below. 

"It  shore  does  have  tew  be  dug  up  out  of  th* 
ground,  at  least  th'  most  on  it,"  agreed  Ham,  grin- 


The  Luck  of  Dickson  183 

ning.  "More  diggin'  than  gold,  th'  most  on  us 
find." 

"Oh,  come !  Let's  hurry.  I  want  to  get  to  dad," 
and  Bud  started  off  down  the  hill  excitedly,  with 
Thure  and  Ham  hurrying  along  behind  him. 

The  side  of  the  hill  was  seamed  with  small  water 
worn  gulches  and  strewn  with  rocks  and  the  logs 
of  fallen  trees;  and  the  trail  down  to  the  bottom 
wound  and  twisted  and  turned  to  avoid  these  ob 
structions,  until  it  seemed  to  the  impatient  boys,  that, 
for  every  step  downward,  they  had  to  go  a  dozen 
steps  to  get  around  some  gulch  or  huge  rock  or 
fallen  tree;  but,  at  last,  they  reached  the  bottom, 
and  were  actually  on  the  very  ground  where  men 
were  digging  gold  out  of  the  dirt. 

"Now,  where  are  our  dads  and  the  rest?"  and 
Thure  looked  curiously  and  excitedly  around  him 
at  the  various  groups  of  miners  hard  at  work  with 
their  picks  or  shovels  or  pans  or  other  washing 
machines.  "I  can't  see  anybody  in  sight  that  looks 
like  them —  Oh,  there  is  Dick  Dickson!"  and  he 
jumped  excitedly  off  his  horse  and  ran  up  to  a 
miner  at  work  near  by,  who  was  about  to  wash  a 
pan  of  dirt,  followed  by  Bud. 

"Hello,  Dick !  Didn't  know  you  in  them  clothes," 
and  Thure  held  out  his  hand  to  the  miner,  whose 
only  dress  was  a  broad-brimmed  hat,  a  red  woollen 
shirt,  and  a  pair  of  trousers. 

"Glad  to  see  you,"  and  the  miner  set  down  the 
pan  of  dirt  and  gripped  the  hands  of  both  the  boys. 


184  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"Had  to  come  to  the  diggings  with  the  rest,  did 
you?  Well,  it's  hard  work;  but  the  gold  is  here!" 
and  his  eyes  sparkled. 

"Are  you  going  to  wash  that  pan  of  dirt,  Dick?" 
and  the  eyes  of  Thure  turned  excitedly  to  the  pan 
full  of  dirt  that  the  miner  had  placed  on  the  ground 
at  the  sudden  appearance  of  the  boys. 

"Yes,"  answered  Dickson,  grinning ;  "and  it's  the 
first  pan  that  looks  like  pay-dirt  that  I've  taken  out 
of  my  new  mine  over  yonder  alongside  of  that  big 
rock,"  and  he  pointed  to  a  huge  rock  that  jutted  up 
above  the  ground  a  couple  of  rods  away,  where  the 
boys  could  see  a  pile  of  dirt  that  had  been  thrown 
out  of  a  hole  dug  down  close  to  the  upper  side  of  the 
rock;  "and  so  I  am  just  a  little  anxious  to  see  how 
it  pans  out." 

"Don't — don't  let  us  keep  you  from  washing  it," 
and  Bud's  face  flushed  with  excitement.  "We,  too, 
would  like  to  see  how  it  pans  out,  wouldn't  we 
Thure?" 

"You  bet !"  was  Thure's  emphatic  rejoinder.  "I 
hope  we  bring  you  good  luck,  Dick.  Now,  let's  see 
how  you  do  it." 

"All  right.  I  sure  need  some  good  luck.  Well, 
here  goes,"  and  with  hands  that  trembled  a  little 
with  excitement,  for  the  washing  of  that  pan  full  of 
dirt  might  mean  a  small  fortune,  he  bent  and  picked 
up  the  gold-pan. 

The  creek  was  only  a  few  feet  away  and  Dickson 
hurried  thither,  followed  by  the  two  eager  boys, 


The  Luck  of  Dickson  185 

while  Ham,  a  good-natured  grin  on  his  face,  stood 
guard  over  the  horses. 

Dickson  first  submerged  the  pan  in  the  water  and 
held  it  there  until  the  dirt  was  thoroughly  soaked, 
while  with  one  hand  he  crushed  and  broke  the 
larger  lumps  and  stirred  the  mass  with  his  fingers, 
until  all  the  dirt  was  dissolved,  and  a  great  deal  of 
it  had  been  borne  away,  in  a  thick  muddy  cloud,  by 
the  current  of  the  stream.  He  then  tipped  the  pan 
a  little,  at  the  same  time  giving  it  a  slight  whirling 
motion,  holding  it  with  both  his  hands,  which  soon 
caused  all  the  remaining  dirt  to  float  away  in  the 
water,  except  a  little  coarse  black  gravel  that 
covered  the  bottom  of  the  pan  in  a  thin  layer. 

"Now,"  and  Dickson  straightened  up,  the  pan  in 
his  hands,  his  face  flushed  with  excitement,  for 
already  his  eyes  had  caught  the  yellow  glitter  of 
gold,  shining  amongst  the  coarse  grains  of  gravel, 
"we'll  see  how  hard  I've  struck  it,"  and  he  thrust 
his  fingers  down  into  the  wet  black  gravel  that 
covered  the  bottom  of  the  pan,  and  moved  them 
slowly  about  in  it,  bending  his  head  down  close  to 
the  pan,  so  that  his  eyes  could  catch  every  gleam  of 
gold. 

"Is  there  any  ?  Is  there  any?"  and  Thure,  in  his 
anxiety  to  see,  almost  bunted  his  head  into  the  head 
of  Dickson. 

"Is  there  any !  Whoop !"  and  Dickson  let  out  a 
yell  that  nearly  startled  both  boys  off  their  feet. 
"Is  there  any!  Just  look  there!  And  there! 


i86  The  Cave  of  Gold 

And  there !"  and  with  a  trembling  finger  he  pointed, 
as  he  spoke,  to  little  rough  bits  of  gold,  a  little  larger 
than  pin-heads,  that  fairly  flecked  with  yellow  the 
bottommost  layer  of  black  gravel. 

Thure  and  Bud  shouted  with  delight;  and  Ham 
and  half  a  dozen  of  the  miners  at  work  near  by 
came  up  on  the  run,  the  faces  of  all  showing  the 
liveliest  interest. 

"Whoop !  I've  struck  it !  Struck  it  rich,  boys !" 
and  the  miner,  almost  beside  himself  with  excite 
ment,  swiftly  gathered  the  golden  bits  out  of  the 
pan  and  spread  them  out  on  the  palm  of  his  hand 
where  all  could  see.  "A  good  ten  ounces !"  he  al 
most  shouted,  as  he  tossed  them  up  and  down  to 
test  their  weight.  "One  hundred  and  sixty  dollars ! 
And  out  of  the  first  pan  full  of  pay-dirt!  Gee- 
wilikins,  but  won't  this  be  good  news  for  Mollie !" 

"You  shore  have  struck  it,  Dickson,"  declared 
Ham,  who,  with  glowing  eyes,  had  been  examining 
the  bits  of  gold  on  the  palm  of  the  miner's  hand. 
"I  reckon  thar's  a  pocketful  of  it  where  that  corned 
from,"  and  he  glanced  toward  the  big  rock.  "That 
thar  rock  acted  like  a  big  riffle  an'  stopped  th'  gold 
a-comin'  down  th'  stream  that  hit  ag'in  it.  I'm 
mighty  glad  you've  hit  y'ur  luck  at  last/'  and  the 
big  hand  of  Ham  went  out  in  a  hearty  grip  of  the 
miner's  calloused  palm.  "You  shore  deserve  it, 
Dickson." 

The  congratulations  of  all  were  equally  hearty 
and  apparently  free  from  envy;  but  Dickson  was 


"  IS  THERE  ANY  !  JUST  LOOK  THERE  !  AND  THERE  !  AND  THERE  ! 


The  Luck  of  Dickson  187 

too  eager  to  further  test  his  discovery  to  wait  long 
to  listen  to  congratulation ;  and,  hurriedly  pocketing 
the  gold,  he  grabbed  up  the  pan  and  rushed  back  to 
his  "mine"  by  the  side  of  the  big  rock. 

"Supposing  we  wait  and  see  him  wash  out  an 
other  pan  of  dirt,"  and  Thure  turned  his  flushed 
face  and  glowing  eyes  eagerly  to  Ham.  "I  never 
was  so  much  interested  in  anything  in  my  life." 

"You  shore  have  got  the  gold-fever  an'  got  it 
bad,"  laughed  Ham.  "An7,  I  reckon,  you're  not 
th'  only  boy  hereabouts  that  is  a-sufferin'  with  it," 
and  he  glanced  at  Bud's  flushed  face.  "Wai,  I'm 
some  interested  myself  in  seein'  how  Dickson's  luck 
holds  out;  so  we'll  wait  tew  see  the  washin'  of  an 
other  pan." 

In  less  than  ten  minutes  the  excited  miner  was 
back  with  another  pan  full  of  the  precious  dirt, 
which  he  at  once  began  to  wash,  his  nervous  ex 
citement  being  so  great  that  the  pan  shook  and 
trembled  in  his  hands.  Suddenly,  in  the  midst  of 
his  washing,  he  jumped  to  his  feet  with  a  wild  yell. 

"A  nugget !  A  nugget !"  and  he  held  aloft  in  one 
hand  a  little  chunk  of  solid  gold,  about  as  large  as 
an  egg  and  nearly  of  the  same  shape,  only  rougher 
in  outline. 

By  this  time  quite  a  little  crowd  of  miners  had 
gathered  around  the  lucky  man;  and  handshakes 
and  claps  on  the  shoulders  and  verbal  congratu 
lations  were  showered  on  him  from  all  sides,  while 
the  nugget  was  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  with 


i88  The  Cave  of  Gold 

many  wise  and  otherwise  comments  as  to  its  weight 
and  probable  value  and  the  likelihood  of  there  be 
ing  others  like  it  where  it  came  from.  In  the  ex 
citement  caused  by  the  rinding  of  the  nugget,  the 
remaining  dirt  in  the  pan  was  forgotten,  until  Ham, 
suddenly  remembering,  turned  to  the  excited  Dick- 
son. 

"Better  finish  cleanin'  out  th'  pan,  Dick,"  he 
said.  "Thar's  probably  more  gold  in  it." 

"Gosh,  if  I  didn't  forget  it !"  and  Dickson  grabbed 
up  the  pan  and  began  washing  its  contents  with 
feverish  haste. 

In  a  few  minutes  he  arose  and  held  out  the  pan, 
his  hands  trembling. 

"There!  Just  look  there!"  he  cried,  pointing  to 
the  glitter  of  gold  in  the  black  sand  that  covered  the 
bottom  of  the  pan.  "If  there  isn't  a  good  fifteen 
ounces  of  gold  there,  then  I  miss  my  guess !"  and 
he  broke  into  a  happy  laugh.  "Well,  boys,  my 
luck  has  turned  at  last !  And  there  is  a  little  woman 
up  there  in  that  little  log  cabin  that  has  got  to  know 
about  it  at  once,"  and  Dickson  dropped  the  pan  and 
started  on  the  run  up  the  side  of  the  hill  toward  a 
little  log  house  that  stood  in  a  cluster  of  pines  half 
way  up  its  side,  followed  by  cheers  from  the  miners, 
who  appeared  to  be  almost  as  rejoiced  over  his 
good  fortune,  as  if  it  had  been  their  own. 

All  this  had  been  very  interesting  and  very  ex 
citing  to  Thure  and  Bud ;  but  now  that  the  climax 


The  Luck  of  Dickson  189 

had  been  passed  their  thoughts  turned  at  once  to 
their  fathers. 

"Now,"  and  Thure  caught  hold  of  Ham's  coat 
sleeve,  "now  that  we  have  seen  how  they  get  the 
gold  from  the  ground,  take  us  to  our  dads.  We  are 
more  anxious  than  ever  to  get  to  them  as  quickly 
as  possible." 

"I'm  pow'ful  glad  Dickson  made  that  strike," 
Ham  commented,  when  they  were  again  on  their 
way.  "He's  been  workin'  like  a  hoss  for  months, 
without  hardly  gittin'  a  sight  of  color ;  but  he's  had 
th'  pluck  tew  keep  a-diggin'.  I  reckon  it's  th' 
Leetle  Woman  up  in  th'  cabin  that's  kept  him 
a-goin'.  She's  pluck  clean  through  an'  has  stood 
right  by  th'  side  of  Dick,  no  matter  what  sort  of 
luck  fate  dished  out  tew  him.  I  shore  am  glad 
Dick  has  hit  it  for  th'  Leetle  Woman's  sake, 
as  well  as  his  own.  Now,  'bout  y'ur  dads.  That's 
their  house  up  thar,  'bout  a  dozen  rods  be 
yond  Dickson's.  But,  I  reckon,  we  won't  find 
none  of  'em  at  home  this  time  of  th'  day," 
and  he  turned  his  horses  into  a  rude  trail  that 
wound  up  the  side  of  the  hill  toward  the  little  grove 
of  pine  trees,  in  which  the  boys  could  see  the  little 
cabin  where  Dickson  lived  and  beyond  that  a  larger 
log  house. 

During  this  time  Dickson  had  been  speeding  up 
the  hill,  shouting  and  yelling  the  good  news  at  the 
top  of  his  voice  as  he  ran.  Suddenly  the  boys  saw 


The  Cave  of  Gold 

the  door  of  the  cabin  thrown  open,  and  a  woman 
rush  out  and  run  madly  down  the  rough  trail  to 
ward  the  miner,  her  long  unconfined  hair  stream 
ing  out  behind  her. 

"Whoop!  I've  struck  it!  Struck  it  rich,  Mol- 
lie!"  they  heard  Dickson  yell,  while  from  down  the 
hill  rang  out  cheer  after  cheer  from  the  little  group 
of  miners  now  gathered  about  Dickson's  find  and 
watching  the  meeting  between  the  lucky  man  and 
the  "Little  Woman,"  as  nearly  all  the  miners  in 
Hangtown  called  Mrs.  Dickson. 

A  few  minutes  later  Dickson  and  the  "Little 
Woman,"  hand  in  hand,  like  two  happy  children, 
ran  past  them  on  their  way  down  to  the  wonderful 
find. 

Thure  and  Bud,  and  even  Ham,  cheered  and 
yelled  as  they  ran  by;  and  the  woman  turned  her 
shining  eyes  in  their  direction  and  waved  her  free 
hand  and  shouted  a  welcome  to  the  two  boys. 

"I  shore  am  glad  that  Dickson  made  that  strike," 
Ham  again  remarked,  with  something  that  looked 
suspiciously  like  moisture  in  his  eyes.  "He's  a 
deservin'  cuss;  an'  th'  Leetle  Woman's  ben  like  a 
mother  tew  us  all." 


CHAPTER  XV 

AROUND  THE  SUPPER  TABLE 

HAM'S    expectations    were   fulfilled;    for    they 
found  the  log  house  vacant,  with  a  sign  on 
the    door    that    read:    "BACK    ABOUT    SUN 
DOWN." 

"Wai,  jest  dismount  an'  unpack  an'  make  y'ur- 
selves  tew  home.  We'll  git  things  all  straightened 
out  afore  we  start  out  tew  hunt  up  th'  delinquents/' 
and  Ham  began  unpacking  his  horses  . 

But  Thure  and  Bud  had  to  have  a  look  inside  the 
house,  before  they  untied  a  rope  or  unbuckled  a 
strap;  and,  the  moment  they  dismounted,  they 
rushed  to  the  door  and  entered. 

The  house  was  a  very  rude  affair — just  four 
walls  of  logs,  roughly  fitted  with  an  ax  and  laid  one 
on  top  of  the  other  to  a  height  of  seven  feet,  enclos 
ing  a  space  some  twenty-five  feet  long  by  eighteen 
feet  wide,  with  a  bark  roof,  ground  floor,  a  door 
cut  through  the  logs  in  the  middle  of  one  side,  and 
three  windows,  one  in  each  side  and  one  in  the 
end  opposite  the  fireplace.  The  fireplace  was  very 
roughly  constructed  of  stones  and  sticks,  plastered 
together  with  a  clay-like  mud,  and  with  the  chim 
ney  built  entirely  outside  of  the  house. 

191 


192  The  Cave  of  Gold 

The  furniture  was  in  keeping  with  the  house. 
The  table  was  the  split  halves  of  a  log,  cut  about  ten 
feet  long  and  laid  side  by  side,  with  their  flat  sides 
up,  supported  by  four  short  posts  driven  into  the 
ground  near  the  center  of  the  room.  The  chairs 
were  blocks  of  wood,  set  on  end,  reenforced  by  a 
couple  of  old  boxes  and  two  miners'  easy  chairs,  a 
unique  production,  made  by  cutting  down  an  empty 
flour  barrel  to  something  of  the  shape  of  an  armed 
easy  chair  and  attaching  two  rockers  to  the  bottom. 
The  seats  of  these  chairs  were  often  lined  and 
stuffed  in  good  shape  and  had  the  comfortable  feel 
and  rock  of  the  more  costly  chairs  of  civilization — 
and  what  more  need  a  miner  ask?  Along  the  side 
of  the  room  opposite  the  door  ran  a  double  tier  of 
rude  bunks,  one  side  of  the  beds  being  supported 
by  posts  driven  into  the  ground  and  the  other  by 
the  logs  of  the  wall.  On  the  wall  near  the  fireplace 
hung  the  frying-pans  and  the  other  rude  cooking 
utensils ;  and  in  a  corner  were  piled  the  bags,  barrels, 
kegs,  and  boxes  containing  their  camp  supplies. 

When  you  are  told  that  this,  at  that  time  in 
Hangtown,  was  considered  a  rather  luxurious  style 
of  living,  you  may  be  able  to  form  something  of  an 
idea  of  the  kind  of  style  in  which  the  average  miner 
lived. 

"Well,  they  don't  put  on  much  style,  do  they?" 
and  the  eyes  Thure  turned  to  Bud  twinkled  with 
excitement  and  interest. 

"Don't  they!     Just  feast  your  eyes  on  this!"  and 


Around  the  Supper  Table  193 

Bud,  dropping  down  into  the  soft  seat  of  one  of 
the  "easy"  chairs,  leaned  back  comfortably  and  be 
gan  rocking.  "Now,  if  this  isn't  style  and  com 
fort,  then  I  don't  know  what  style  and  comfort  are. 
Better  try  it,"  and  he  winked  toward  the  other 
"easy"  chair. 

Thure  at  once  profited  by  the  suggestion. 

"Well,  I  swun  to  goodness!"  he  declared,  as  he 
rocked  back  and  forth  in  the  novel  chair,  "if  this 
doesn't  beat  mother's  easy  rocker  for  comfort.  I 
reckon  dad  will  have  to  make  her  one,  when  we 
get  back  home,"  and  he  grinned. 

"Say,"  and  Ham  strode  into  the  house,  a  bag 
of  flour  on  one  shoulder,  a  box  of  canned  stuff 
under  one  arm,  and  a  grin  all  over  his  face,  "if  you 
yunks  think  you've  come  up  here  tew  dew  nuthin' 
but  tew  set  an'  rock  in  y'ur  dads'  easy  chairs,  you've 
got  another  think  comin'  an'  comin'  quick.  Now, 
git  them  packs  off  th'  backs  of  y'ur  hosses  an'  intew 
th'  house.  This  ain't  no  Home  of  Cumfort  for 
lazy  yunks.  Out  with  you !"  and,  dropping  the  bag 
of  flour  and  the  box  in  the  corner,  he  started  for  the 
two  boys. 

Thure  and  Bud  "outed"  as  fast  as  their  four  legs 
could  take  them;  and  soon  were  busy  getting  the 
packs  off  their  horses  and  the  goods  into  the  house. 
When  this  had  been  done  and  the  horses  had  been 
cared  for,  the  sun  was  nearing  the  tops  of  the 
western  mountains ;  and  it  was  decided  not  to  hunt 
up  the  "delinquents,"  as  Ham  called  them,  but  to 


194  The  Cave  of  Gold 

await  their  return  at  the  house;  and,  in  the  mean 
time,  to  prepare  such  a  supper  for  them  as  seldom 
blessed  a  miner's  eyes  and  excited  his  appetite, 
from  the  delicacies  Mrs.  Conroyal  and  Mrs.  Ran 
dolph  had  sent  in  the  packs  of  the  boys.  Then,  in 
addition,  Thure  and  Bud  determined  to  try  and  give 
their  fathers,  who,  of  course,  supposed  the  two  boys 
were  still  at  home  with  their  mothers  and  sisters 
on  the  rancho,  a  little  surprise.  By  keeping  a  sharp 
lookout  down  the  trail  they  could  be  warned  of  the 
coming  of  the  men  in  sufficient  time  to  put  their 
surprise  in  operation. 

Accordingly  they  got  everything  in  readiness, 
first  by  tying  their  horses  out  of  sight  behind  a 
clump  of  bushes  and  removing  every  outward  sign 
of  their  presence,  and  then  by  drawing  the  two  easy 
chairs  up  close  together  in  front  of  the  door  and 
placing  one  of  the  blocks  of  wood  used  as  seats  in 
front  of  each  chair.  When  they  saw  their  fathers 
coming,  they  would  take  their  places  in  these  chairs, 
lean  back  comfortably  in  them,  place  their  feet  at 
a  comfortable  angle  on  top  of  the  blocks  of  wood, 
and,  thus  sitting  cozily  in  the  two  easy  chairs,  be 
the  first  objects  to  meet  their  fathers'  eyes  on  en 
tering  the  house.  They  fancied  that  this  unex 
pected  sight  might  surprise  the  two  men  some;  and 
they  were  not  disappointed. 

Fortunately  for  the  success  of  their  "surprise," 
Mr.  Conroyal  and  Mr.  Randolph  led  the  little  pro 
cession  of  miners  that  appeared  a  few  minutes  after 


Around  the  Supper  Table  195 

sundown,  coming  up  the  trail  leading  to  the  log 
house. 

"Here  they  come !"  cried  Bud,  who  was  stationed 
at  the  window  overlooking  the  trail,  the  moment 
the  men  appeared  in  sight.  "Hurry,  Thure,  and 
get  into  your  chair/' 

The  two  boys  quickly  seated  themselves  in  the 
barrel-rockers,  perched  their  feet  comfortably  on 
top  of  the  blocks  of  wood,  leaned  back  comfortably 
into  the  hollows  of  their  chairs,  and  fixed  their  eyes 
on  the  door,  their  faces  shining  with  excitement. 

At  last  the  door  was  flung  open  and  the  big  frame 
of  Noel  Conroyal,  backed  by  that  of  Rad  Randolph, 
appeared  in  the  doorway. 

For  a  moment  both  men  stopped  right  where 
they  were,  and  stood  staring  in  blank  astonishment 
at  the  faces  of  the  two  boys  sitting  in  the  two  chairs. 

"Walk  right  in,"  invited  Thure,  his  eyes  dancing. 

"Yes,  come  right  in  and  have  supper  with  us," 
urged  Bud. 

For  an  instant  longer  the  two  men  stood  star 
ing;  and  then  both  of  them  made  a  rush  for  the 
two  boys;  and,  as  they  were  almost  instantly  fol 
lowed  by  Dill  Conroyal,  Thure's  older  brother,  Rex 
Holt,  Thure's  cousin,  and  Frank  Holt,  Thure's 
uncle  and  the  father  of  Rex  Holt,  you  can  imagine 
the  excitement  and  confusion  that  reigned  in  that 
log  house  and  how  swiftly  the  questions  flew  back 
and  forth  for  the  next  few  minutes.  The  men  had 
been  away  from  their  homes  and  their  dear  ones 


196  The  Cave  of  Gold 

for  nearly  a  year  now;  and,  naturally,  were  exceed 
ingly  anxious  to  learn  what  had  been  going  on  dur 
ing  their  absence.  Suddenly,  when  the  excitement 
had  quieted  down  a  little,  Mr.  Conroyal's  face 
clouded  and  something  that  looked  very  much  like 
a  frown  gathered  on  his  forehead,  as  he  turned  to 
Thure. 

"But,  young  man,"  and  the  frown  on  his  face 
deepened,  "how  comes  it  that  you  are  here,  against 
my  express  commands  ?  I  left  you  at  home  to  care 
for  your  mother  and  sister  and  the  rancho.  Why 
have  you  deserted  your  trust?" 

"Oh,  dad,"  and  Thure  turned  excitedly  to  his 
father,  "the  most  wonderful  thing  has  happened! 
We  found  a  dying  miner,  who  had  been  robbed  and 
stabbed;  and  he,  just  before  he  died,  gave  us  a  map 
that  tells  us  how  to  find  a  Cave  of  Gold  that  he  had 
discovered ;  and  mother,  our  mothers,  thought  you 
ought  to  know  about  it;  and  so  we  are  here,  to  get 
you  all  to  help  find  this  wonderful  Cave  of  Gold. 
The  miner  said  that  the  bottom  of  the  cave  was 
covered  with  gold  nuggets,  just  covered  with  them, 
dad." 

"And  he  gave  us  one  of  the  nuggets,  a  whopper !" 
broke  in  Bud. 

"And  your  mothers  were  foolish  enough  to  be 
lieve  such  an  improbable  tale  and  to  send  you  here 
on  such  a  wildgoose  chase!"  and  something  that 
began  to  look  very  much  like  anger  darkened  Mr. 
Conroyal's  face.  "Why,  the  camp  is  full  of  such 


Around  the  Supper  Table  197, 

tales;  but  no  sensible  man  ever  pays  any  attention 
to  them." 

"But,  dad,  you  haven't  heard  our  story  yet;  and 
you  haven't  seen  the  map  and  the  nugget,"  in 
sisted  Thure  eagerly.  "I  am  sure  you  will  not 
blame  us  for  coming  when  you  know  all." 

"Well,  my  son,"  and  Mr.  Conroyal's  lips  tight 
ened  grimly,  "we'll  have  a  look  at  that  map  and 
nugget  and  hear  that  wonderful  story  of  yours  and 
then,  if  it  doesn't  look  as  if  it  might  pan  out  true, 
back  you  will  start  for  home  at  sun-up  to-morrow 
morning.  What  do  you  say,  Rad  ?"  and  he  turned 
to  Mr.  Randolph.  "The  boys  must  be  made  to 
understand  that  they  can't  desert  a  trust  like  that 
at  every  wild  tale  they  hear." 

"Right,"  agreed  Mr.  Randolph.  "They  start 
back  for  home  to-morrow  morning,  if  their  tale 
does  not  sound  reasonable  enough  to  make  good 
their  coming.  They  were  all  the  men  folks  left 
that  the  women  could  depend  on;  and  the  reason 
must  be  a  strong  one  to  justify  their  deserting 
them." 

"But,  we  did  not  desert  them,"  expostulated  Bud. 
"They  gave  us  permission  to  come,  told  us  to  come, 
because  they  thought  you  ought  to  know  about  the 
Cave  of  Gold  and  the  map,  and  there  was  no  one 
else  to  send,"  and  Bud's  cheeks  flushed  a  little  with 
disappointment  and  indignation. 

"Wai,  now,"  and  the  good-natured  face  of  Ham 
loomed  up  between  the  two  boys,  "I  reckon,  if  you 


198  The  Cave  of  Gold 

all  will  jest  take  a  look  at  that  thar  table,  you'll 
stop  y'ur  talkin'  and  git  tew  eatin'  some  sudden. 
'Tain't  once  in  a  dog's  age  that  a  miner  in  Hang- 
town  can  sot  down  tew  a  table  like  that/'  and  Ham 
waved  both  hands  proudly  in  the  direction  of  the 
split-log  table,  on  which  he  had  spread  out,  with  lav 
ish  hands,  the  cakes,  pies,  jellies,  fruits,  butter,  eggs 
and  the  other  good  things  sent  from  home,  together 
with  the  results  of  his  own  more  substantial  cook 
ing,  fried  bacon,  nicely  browned  flapjacks,  and 
steaming  hot  coffee. 

"Whoop!"  yelled  Rex.  "Me  for  the  eat!"  and, 
grabbing  up  one  of  the  blocks  of  wood,  he  made 
a  rush  for  the  table,  followed  by  all  present. 

That  was  a  jolly  supper.  The  sight  of  the  un 
accustomed  good  things  to  eat  put  everybody  in 
good  nature — and  no  wonder!  for  their  eyes  had 
not  seen  an  egg  or  a  cake  or  a  pie  or  a  hunk  of 
butter,  to  say  nothing  of  the  jelly  and  the  fruit,  in 
Hangtown  before  for  six  months;  and  nobody 
knows  how  good  these  things  look  and  taste,  until 
they  have  been  without  even  a  smell  of  them  for 
some  months,  and  living  on  a  steady  diet  of  salt 
pork  and  beans  and  man-made  bread.  But,  at 
length,  as  all  good  things  will,  the  eating  came  to 
an  end;  and  then,  almost  involuntarily,  all  eyes 
turned  toward  Thure  and  Bud.  Their  stomachs 
were  filled;  and  now  all  were  in  the  best  possible 
condition  to  listen  to  their  story. 


Around  the  Supper  Table  199 

"Now,  for  that  dead  miner's  wonderful  tale/7  and 
Conroyal  turned  to  Thure. 

"Jest  wait  a  minit  afore  you  begin,"  and  Ham 
arose  suddenly  from  the  table.  "We  want  no  out 
side  listeners  tew  this  tale/'  and,  hurrying  outside, 
he  made  a  hasty  circuit  of  the  house,  to  assure 
himself  that  there  were  no  eavesdroppers.  When 
he  came  in  he  remarked,  by  way  of  answer  to  the 
inquiring  glances  turned  in  his  direction :  "You  will 
know  why  I'm  so  cautious-like  afore  th'  yunks 
come  tew  th'  end  of  their  tale;  an',  I  reckon/'  and 
he  glanced  around  the  circle  of  somewhat  startled 
faces  that  surrounded  the  table,  "afore  they  begin, 
we'd  better  have  it  understood  by  all  that  thar  is 
tew  be  no  talkin'  outside  'bout  this  matter,  that  it's 
tew  be  kept  as  close  as  our  own  skins  tew  our 
selves.  It  has  already  caused  th'  death  of  th'  old 
miner,  an'  mighty  nigh  th'  death  of  them  yunks 
thar,  as  you'll  soon  larn,  an'  death  is  still  hot  on 
th'  trail,  so  it's  jest  good  hoss-sense  for  us  tew  be 
cautious-like.  We  don't  want  no  more  killin's,  if 
we  can  help  it.  Now,  I  reckon,  you  can  begin  y'ur 
yarn,"  and,  seating  himself,  he  nodded  his  head  to 
Thure  and  Bud. 

You  may  be  sure  that,  after  these  ominous  actions 
and  words  of  Ham,  there  was  no  lack  of  interest 
in  the  faces  now  turned  toward  the  two  boys. 

Thure  began  the  story;  and,  helped  here  and 
there  by  Bud  and  often  interrupted  by  the  angry 


2OO  The  Cave  of  Gold 

exclamations  of  his  excited  hearers,  he  told  the  re 
markable  tale,  from  the  killing  of  El  Feroz  and 
the  death  of  the  old  miner  to  their  own  startling 
arrest  for  murder  in  the  streets  of  Sacramento  City 
and  narrow  rescue  from  the  hangman's  rope  by  the 
providential  coming  of  Hammer  Jones  and  Colonel 
Fremont. 

"And  those  two  cowardly  skunks  got  away !"  al 
most  yelled  Conroyal,  as  he  banged  his  big  fist 
down  on  the  table,  his  face  white  with  wrath. 
"And  after  they  had  almost  succeeded  in  getting 
two  innocent  boys  hanged  for  a  crime  they  com 
mitted  themselves!" 

"They  sart'in  did/'  answered  Ham  grimly.  "An' 
what's  more  th'  cunnin'  devils  like  as  not  are  still 
on  th'  trail  of  that  thar  skin  map  th'  old  miner  gave 
th'  boys.  That's  why  I  reckon  we'll  need  tew  be 
some  cautious." 

"But,  where  is  this  wonderful  skin  map  and  that 
big  gold  nugget?"  cried  Rex  Holt,  his  eyes  shining 
and  his  face  flushing.  "Let  us  have  a  look  at 
them,"  and  he  jumped  to  his  feet  and  leaned  across 
the  table,  so  as  to  be  nearer  to  Thure. 

"Dill,  you  and  Rex  just  take  a  run  around  the 
house  to  see  that  the  coast  is  still  clear,  before  the 
boys  show  up  the  gold  nugget  and  the  skin  map," 
and  Mr.  Conroyal  glanced  sharply  toward  the  door 
and  the  windows.  "As  Ham  says,  we  want  no 
eavesdroppers  in  this  case." 

Dill  and  Rex  at  once  sprang  to  the  door;  and, 


Around  the  Supper  Table  201 

moving  in  opposite  directions,  each  slowly  made  the 
circuit  of  the  house,  their  keen  eyes  searching  the 
surrounding  darkness.  They  neither  saw  nor 
heard  anything  suspicious. 

"Now,  we'll  have  a  look  at  that  map  and  gold 
nugget/'  Mr.  Conroyal  said,  as  soon  as  Rex  and 
Dill  had  returned  and  reported  the  coast  clear. 
"Of  course/'  and  he  glanced  around  the  circle  of 
faces,  "it  is  understood  that  all  that  is  said  and 
seen  here  to-night  is  to  be  kept  secret  by  all,  whether 
or  not  the  search  for  the  Cave  of  Gold  is  made." 

"Yes,  yes !"  cried  Dill  impatiently.  "We're  all  in 
on  it  together  and  must  not  breathe  a  word  about  it 
to  an  outsider.  We  all  understand  that,  don't 
we?" 

All  the  heads  around  the  table  quickly  nodded 
assent. 

"Now,  then,  let  us  have  that  map  and  gold  nug 
get,"  and  he  turned  excitedly  to  Thure  and  Bud. 

Thure  at  once  thrust  his  hand  under  the  bosom 
of  his  shirt  and  under  his  left  shoulder  and  pulled 
out  the  miner's  little  buckskin  bag.  Then  he 
opened  the  bag  and  pulled  out  the  map. 

"The  skin  map,"  he  said,  and,  laying  it  down  on 
the  table,  he  swiftly  turned  the  bag  upside  down 
and  dumped  the  gold  nugget  down  on  top  of  it. 
"And  here  is  the  gold  nugget." 

For  a  moment  no  one  moved;  but  all  sat  staring 
at  the  big  yellow  chunk  of  metal,  shining  ruddily 
in  the  light  of  the  flickering  candles,  as  it  dropped 


2O2  The  Cave  of  Gold 

from  the  bag  and  came  to  a  rest  on  the  skin  map 
and  lay  there  on  the  table  in  front  of  Thure. 

"Gosh,  that  sart'in  looks  like  th'  real  stuff!"  and 
the  big  hand  of  Ham  reached  out  and  picked  up  the 
nugget  and  hefted  it  critically.  "Solid  gold!"  he 
declared,  his  eyes  shining.  "Jest  heft  it,  Con,"  and 
he  passed  the  nugget  to  Conroyal.  "Wai,  I  reckon 
you  yunks  have  made  good.  Now,  let's  see  what's 
on  that  thar  piece  of  skin,"  and,  picking  up  the  map, 
he  smoothed  it  out  on  the  table  and  stared  down 
on  it,  while  as  many  heads  as  possible  crowded 
close  to  his  head  and  stared  down  on  the  map  with 
him. 

"John  Stackpole,  did  anyone  here  ever  hear  of  a 
feller  by  th'  name  of  John  Stackpole?"  and  Ham 
raised  his  head  and  glanced  around. 

"I  know  the  man,"  declared  Frank  Holt,  the 
father  of  Rex,  whose  snowy  white  hair  gave  him 
a  patriarchal  appearance.  "I  remember  now. 
That's  the  name  the  fellow  gave  I  saw  in  Coleman's 
store  'bout  two  weeks  ago.  He  had  a  peculiar  scar, 
shaped  something  like  a  horseshoe  over  one  of  his 
eyes." 

"That's  the  man!  You  remember  that  queer- 
shaped  scar  over  one  of  his  eyes,  don't  you?"  and 
Bud  turned  excitedly  to  Thure. 

"Yes,"  answered  Thure.  "He  must  have  just 
got  back  from  the  cave.  What  was  he  doing,  Uncle 
Frank?"  and  he  turned  eagerly  to  Mr.  Holt. 

"Well,  he  certainly  looked  as  if  he  had  just  come 


Around  the  Supper  Table  203 

out  of  a  cave,"  grinned  Holt.  "Clothes  all  in  rags 
and  dirty,  and  hair  and  beard  all  over  his  head,  ex 
cept  his  eyes  and  nose  and  mouth.  But,"  and  his 
face  lighted  up,  "he  seemed  to  have  plenty  of  gold- 
dust  ;  for,  while  I  was  standing  there  watching  him 
curiously,  he  picked  out  a  good  suit  of  clothes  and 
paid  for  them  out  of  a  bag  heavy  with  gold,  gold 
that  was  mostly  small  nuggets. 

"  'Struck  it,  pard/  and  I  saw  Coleman' s  eyes 
glisten,  as  he  gathered  in  them  small  nuggets,  for 
the  gold  wasn't  no  Hangtown  gold.  Anybody  with 
eyes  could  see  that. 

"  'Just  a  pocket,"  answered  the  man.  'But  good 
and  rich,  for  a  pocket/ 

"  'Whereabouts  might  it  be,  if  I  ain't  asking  too 
much  ?"  queried  Coleman,  who  I  could  see  was  some 
excited  over  that  bag  full  of  little  gold  nuggets, 
as  he  placed  the  bundle  of  clothes  down  in  front  of 
the  man. 

"  'Thank  you/  answered  the  man  gruffly,  and, 
picking  up  the  bundle,  he  hurried  out  of  the  store, 
considerably  to  the  disappointment  of  Coleman 

"Now,  I  calculate,  that  must  have  been  our  man, 
for  he  certainly  told  Coleman  that  his  name  was 
John  Stackpole,  when  he  asked  him  if  any  message 
had  been  left  there  for  him.  I  remember  it  all  plain, 
because  I  got  some  excited  over  that  bag  full  of 
little  gold  nuggets  myself ;  but  I  didn't  call  to  mind 
the  name  until  Ham  called  it  out." 

For  many  minutes  the  map  and  the  gold  nugget 


2O4  The  Cave  of  Gold 

were  now  passed  from  hand  to  hand  and  thoroughly 
examined  by  all,  while  the  tongues  of  all  wagged 
with  excited  comments  and  Thure  and  Bud  were 
often  called  upon  to  repeat  parts  of  their  story. 
But,  at  length,  Noel  Conroyal,  who  had  been  elected 
President  of  the  Never-Give-Up  California  Mining 
Company,  into  which  our  good  friends,  the  Con- 
royals,  the  Randolphs,  the  Holts,  and  Hammer 
Jones,  had  organized  themselves,  stood  up  and 
pounded  on  the  table  with  his  big  fist. 

"The  Never-Give-Up  California  Mining  Com 
pany  will  come  to  order/'  he  said,  the  moment  the 
talking  ceased;  "for  the  purpose  of  considering  the 
matter  laid  before  it  by  Thure  Conroyal  and  Bud 
Randolph  and  to  determine  what  action,  if  any, 
shall  be  taken." 

"Oh,  cut  out  the  big  talk,  dad,  and  just  let's  talk 
it  over  together,"  protested  Dill  a  bit  impatiently; 
for,  when  Mr.  Conroyal  assumed  the  office  and  the 
dignities  of  the  President  of  the  Never-Give-Up 
California  Mining  Company,  he  was  apt  to  be  a 
little  formal  and  long-winded.  "We  don't  need  the 
formalities  and  they  take  up  time." 

"All  right,  if  that  is  the  wish  of  the  company," 
agreed  Mr.  Conroyal  good-naturedly.  "I  only 
wanted  to  get  to  doing  something  besides  talking." 

"I  think,"  declared  Ham,  "that,  now  that  we've 
heer'd  th'  story  an'  seen  th'  skin  map  an'  th'  gold 
nugget,  we'd  better  sleep  on  it  afore  we  decide  any 
thing,  'specially  seein'  that  it's  gittin'  late,  an'  all 


Around  the  Supper  Table  205 

on  us,  I  reckon,  are  plumb  tired;  an'  tharfore,  I 
move  that  this  here  meetin'  be  adjourned  'til  tew- 
morrer  mornin',  an'  that  all  on  us  be  ordered  tew 
git  intew  our  bunks  an'  go  tew  sleep." 

Ham's  suggestion  sounded  so  sensible,  for  even 
the  excitement  could  no  longer  keep  their  tired 
bodies  and  brains  from  calling  out  for  rest  and 
sleep,  that  it  was  adopted  at  once,  with  only  a  few 
feeble  protests;  and,  in  fifteen  minutes  from  the 
time  it  was  made  the  lights  were  out  and  all  were 
in  their  bunks. 

"Say,  dad,"  queried  Thure  a  bit  mischievously, 
as  he  and  Bud  crawled  under  the  blankets  of  one 
of  the  bunks,  "do  we  have  to  start  back  for  home 
at  sun-up?" 

"No,  shut  up  and  go  to  sleep,"  growled  back  Mr. 
Conroyal. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

UNEXPECTED  COMPANY 

THE  next  morning  everybody  at  the  Head 
quarters  of  the  Never-Give-Up  California 
Mining  Company  was  up  an  hour  before  the  sun 
flashed  its  golden  light  over  the  tops  of  the  eastern 
mountains  and  down  on  the  log  cabins  and  tents  of 
Hangtown.  All  the  workers  in  the  mining-camps 
went  to  bed  early,  tired  out  with  their  hard  day's 
work  with  pick  and  shovel,  slept  soundly,  and  arose 
early  the  next  morning  to  begin  another  day  of  toil. 
Only  the  drones — the  gamblers,  the  saloon-keepers, 
and  their  foolish  patrons — burned  the  midnight  oil, 
or,  rather  in  this  case,  the  midnight  candle,  for 
there  was  little  oil  to  burn  in  these  camps.  Hence 
it  was  that  when  Thure  and  Bud  hurried  out  of 
the  house  to  wash  their  hands  and  faces  in  a 
near-by  spring,  they  saw  that  they  were  far  from 
being  the  only  early  risers,  that  the  smoke  was  ris 
ing  from  the  chimneys  of  nearly  every  log  cabin 
in  sight  and  that  in  front  of  nearly  every  tent 
glowed  a  camp-fire,  around  which  the  cooks  already 
could  be  seen  preparing  breakfast. 

"Well,  this  is  great!"  declared  Bud,  as  he  dashed 

206 


Unexpected  Company  207 

the  cool,  refreshing  water  over  his  face.  "I  feel  like 
a  new  man  already.  There  must  be  something  in 
this  mountain  air  that  gets  into  the  blood  and  puts 
new  life  into  a  fellow.  Say,  but  isn't  this  a  beauti 
ful  sight,  like — like  a  picture  painted  by  a  great 
artist!"  and  his  eyes  swept  over  the  surrounding 
scene,  now  just  becoming  visible  through  the  light 
of  the  early  dawn. 

"You  are  right,  it  is  a  beautiful  scene/'  and 
Thure  stood  up  and  allowed  his  eyes  to  drink  in, 
with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  youth,  the  beauties  of 
the  scene ;  "but,  I  reckon,  there  is  no  artist  that  can 
paint  a  picture  the  equal  of  that,"  and  he  pointed 
to  the  distant  tops  of  the  eastern  mountains.  "It 
takes  the  brush  of  God  to  paint  that  kind  of 
pictures !" 

And  Thure  was  right.  No  artist's  skill  could 
transfer  to  canvas  the  full  glories  of  such  a  scene  as 
now  delighted  the  eyes  of  Thure  and  Bud. 

The  first  rays  of  the  morning's  sun  flamed  upon 
the  snow-covered  tops  of  the  mountains  towering 
high  above  their  heads  to  the  eastward,  while  the 
mountainsides  and  valleys  were  still  dark  with  the 
shadows  of  night ;  and  everywhere  the  flaming  light 
of  morning  struck  the  crystal- white  of  the  snow  on 
mountain  top  and  pinnacle,  that  peak  was  crowned 
with  a  glorious  halo  that  glowed,  first  with  grayish 
violet  lights,  swiftly  changing  to  crimson  and  rose, 
and  from  rose  to  gold,  until,  suddenly,  the  whole 
peak  blazed  forth  in  the  glorious  light  of  the  full- 


208  The  Cave  of  Gold 

risen  sun.  A  vision  for  an  artist  to  rhapsodize 
over ;  but  for  a  God  to  paint ! 

"Bre'kfust!  First  an'  last  call  tew  bre'kfust!" 
yelled  Ham  from  the  open  door  of  the  house,  just 
as  the  sun  burst  over  the  tops  of  the  mountains. 

"I  feel  as  if  I  had  just  been  to  church/'  Thure 
said  reverently,  as  the  two  boys  started  back  to  the 
house. 

"So  do  I,"  agreed  Bud.  "Only  no  church  or 
priest  ever  seem  to  bring  God  as  close  to  a  fellow  as 
such  a  scene  as  that  does.  I  don't  see  how  any 
body  can  live  in  the  mountains  and  not  believe  in 
God." 

As  soon  as  breakfast  was  eaten,  Mr.  Conroyal 


arose. 
a 


Now,"  he  said,  "that  we  have  all  had  a  night  in 
which  to  think  over  the  tale  of  the  dead  miner  we 
had  better  get  together  and  decide  on  what  we  had 
best  do;  and,  as  Dill  suggested  last  night,  we  will 
first  talk  it  over  in  an  informal  way.  Now,  what 
do  you  think  about  the  truth  of  the  miner's  yarn? 
That,  of  course,  is  the  first  thing  to  settle ;  for  there 
is  no  need  of  bothering  with  the  matter  at  all,  un 
less  we  feel  quite  sure  that  the  miner  really  found  a 
cave  something  like  the  one  he  described  to  Thure 
and  Bud." 

"Well,  considering  all  things,"  and  Frank  Holt 
took  the  pipe  he  had  lit  and  was  puffing  on  out  of 
his  mouth  and  laid  it  down  on  the  table,  "and  more 
especially  considering  the  fact,  that,  when  I  saw 


Unexpected  Company  209 

him  in  Coleman's,  he  appeared  to  have  just  got  in 
from  a  long  prospecting  spell  in  the  mountains  and 
to  have  plenty  of  gold  along  with  him,  and  gold 
of  a  different  kind  than  is  found  anywhere  around 
here,  I  feel  quite  certain  that  Stackpole's  yarn  about 
finding  that  Cave  of  Gold  comes  pretty  nigh  to  be 
ing  true,  nigh  enough  at  least  to  be  worth  investi 
gating." 

"Them's  my  sentiments  right  down  tew  a  T," 
declared  Ham  emphatically.  "Whar  thar's  ben  so 
much  smoke,  thar's  sart'in  tew  be  some  fire.  I'm 
in  favor  of  makin'  a  hunt  for  th'  Cave  of  Gold ;  but, 
afore  doin'  it,  I'd  like  tew  know  how  that  thar  wing 
dam  project  over  in  Holt's  Gulch  is  promisin'  tew 
pan  out.  If  'twon't  take  tew  long,  I'd  like  tew  see 
that  job  finished  afore  we  have  a  try  for  th'  Cave  of 
Gold.  I  reckon  we've  all  put  tew  many  backaches 
an'  armaches  intew  that  dam  tew  want  tew  see  'em 
wasted;  an'  thar  might  be  a  wagon  load  of  gold 
thar,  an',  if  thar  is,  we  want  tew  be  th'  ones  tew  git 
it,  after  all  our  work." 

"Right,  Ham's  right,"  asserted  Mr.  Randolph. 
"Now,  supposing  we  all  go  down  and  have  a  look 
at  that  dam,  and  try  to  figure  out  just  about  how 
much  longer  it  will  take  to  finish  it,  before  we  de 
cide  anything  definitely  about  the  hunt  for  the 
Cave  of  Gold.  I  feel  almost  sure  that  we  are  going 
to  strike  it  rich  there,  and  I'd  hate  like  sin  to  see  any 
one  else  reap  where  we've  sown  so  many  backaches, 
as  Ham  says." 


2io  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"I  think  Rad  has  it  about  right/'  declared  Mr. 
Conroyal,  "and,  if  there  are  no  objections,  we'll  all 
go  down  to  Holt's  Gulch  and  have  a  look  at  the 
wing  dam.  I  fancy  it  wouldn't  please  none  of  us 
much,  after  working  as  hard  as  we  have,  to  see  some 
body  else  step  into  our  boots  there  and  reap  a  for 
tune,  as  like  as  not  they'd  do,  if  we  deserted  the 
dam  now.  I  reckon  it  won't  take  more  than  a  week 
to  finish  the  dam;  and  then  a  few  hours  will  show 
whether  or  not  we've  struck  pay-dirt." 

There  were  no  objections  made  to  this  proposi 
tion,  although  Rex  and  Dill  and  Thure  and  Bud 
grumbled  a  little  over  the  prospect  of  having  the 
hunt  for  the  Cave  of  Gold  delayed  for  a  week ;  and, 
accordingly,  all  started  for  Holt's  Gulch,  so  named 
in  honor  of  its  discoverer,  Rex  Holt. 

The  gulch  was  about  two  miles  from  Hangtown 
and  was  reached  by  passing  up  a  deep  and  steep 
ravine,  that  split  the  side  of  the  hill  a  little  above 
Hangtown,  for  about  a  mile,  and  then  up  and  over 
the  side  of  the  ravine  and  down  into  a  narrow  little 
valley,  into  which  a  little  stream  of  water  tumbled 
through  a  rent  in  the  walls  of  rock  that  nearly  en 
closed  the  valley.  This  rent  in  the  rocks  was  the 
entrance  to  Holt's  Gulch;  and  the  dam  was  being 
constructed  something  like  half  a  mile  farther  up, 
where  the  gulch  crooked  about,  like  a  bent  elbow, 
and  widened  out  a  little. 

Many  of  the  miners  were  already  at  work  when 
our  little  company  passed  up  the  ravine  on  their 


Unexpected  Company  211 

way  to  Holt's  Gulch,  presenting  scenes  of  the  great 
est  interest  and  novelty  to  the  unaccustomed  eyes 
of  Thure  and  Bud,  as  they  dug  for  the  precious 
metal,  sometimes  up  to  their  knees  in  mud  and 
water,  sometimes  so  far  away  from  the  water  that 
all  the  pay-dirt  had  to  be  carried  on  their  backs  to 
the  creek  and  there  panned,  but  always  cheerful 
and  hopeful  that  they  "sure  would  strike  it  big 


soon." 


"Now,  what  might  those  fellows  be  doing  there? 
They  look  as  if  they  might  be  winnowing  wheat; 
but,  of  course,  that  can't  be  what  they  are  doing," 
and  Thure  turned  a  puzzled  face  to  Ham,  as  he 
pointed  to  where  a  small  company  of  Mexicans,  lank 
and  skinny  and  black  as  Arabs  of  the  desert,  were 
gathering  the  loose  dry  dirt  in  large  wooden  bowls, 
tossing  it  up  in  the  air,  where  the  wind  could  blow 
away  the  lighter  particles,  and  dexterously  catching 
it  again  in  their  bowls,  as  it  came  down,  or  allow 
ing  it  to  fall  on  blankets  or  hides  spread  on  the 
ground  at  their  feet,  in  a  manner  very  similar  to  the 
ancient  method  of  separating  the  grain  from  the 
chaff. 

"Them  are  a  breed  of  Mexies  called  Sonorans," 
answered  Ham;  "an'  they  are  a-throwin'  that  dirt 
up  in  th'  air  an'  a-catchin'  it  ag'in  tew  git  th'  gold 
out  of  it.  You  see  th'  wind  keeps  a-blowin'  th' 
lighter  dirt  out  an'  a-leavin'  th'  gold,  'cause  it's 
heavier,  until  thar's  nuthin'  left  but  th'  dirt  what's 
tew  heavy  for  th'  wind  tew  blow  away  an'  th'  gold- 


212  The  Cave  of  Gold 

dust,  which  is  cleaned  by  blowing  th'  heavy  dirt 
out  of  th'  bowl  with  th'  breath.  That  way  of  git- 
tin'  gold  is  called  dry-washin';  an'  is  tew  slow  an' 
dirty  for  Americans  or  anybody  else  that's  got  much 
gump  tew  'em;  but  them  tarnal  Mexies  seem  tew 
thrive  on  it.  I  reckon  th'  good  Lord  made  'em 
nearly  black,  jest  so  they  could  live  an'  work  in 
dirt,  without  th'  dirt  showin'  through  much.  That 
sort  of  thing  would  kill  a  white  man  in  a  week,"  and 
Ham  looked  his  disgust. 

"Say,  but  this  gold-digging  is  no  fun,  no  matter 
how  you  do  it,  is  it?"  and  Thure's  eyes  swept  up 
and  down  the  ravine,  where  hundreds  of  men  were 
toiling  like  ditch-diggers. 

"Fun!  Gold-diggin'  fun!"  and  Ham  grinned. 
"Th'  feller  what  comes  tew  th'  diggin's  a-thinkin' 
that  th'  gold  is  a-goin'  tew  jump  up  right  out  of 
th'  ground,  'cause  it's  so  glad  tew  see  him,  is  a-goin' 
tew  git  fooled  'bout  as  bad  as  Dutch  Ike  did,  when 
he  took  a  skunk  for  a  new  kind  of  an  American 
house  cat  an'  tried  tew  pick  it  up  in  his  arms. 
Fun!  No;  gold-diggin'  is  jest  grit  an'  j'int  grease 
mixed  tewgether  an'  kept  a-goin'  with  beans  an' 
salt  pork  an'  flapjacks.  But,  we're  gettin'  ahind 
a-watchin'  them  dirty  Sonorans.  Come  on,"  and 
the  huge  strides  of  Ham  made  Thure  and  Bud  both 
trot  to  keep  up  with  him,  as  he  hurried  after  the 
others,  to  whom  the  dry-washing  Mexicans  were 
too  common  a  sight  to  be  worthy  a  moment's  pause 
for  the  purpose  of  watching. 


Unexpected  Company  213 

"Now,  dad,"  and  Thure  turned  inquiringly  to 
his  father,  when,  at  length,  all  stood  together  in 
Holt's  Gulch  on  the  mound  of  dirt  that  had  been 
already  thrown  up  in  building  the  wing  dam,  "I 
don't  just  see  how  this  dam  is  going  to  help  you 
find  the  gold." 

"Well,  my  son,"  and  Mr.  Conroyal  smiled,  "it  is 
not  at  all  surprising  to  find  that  you  do  not  know  all 
about  mining,  seeing  that  you  have  been  in  the 
diggings  only  over  night;  but  I'll  give  you  the 
theory  of  the  dam.  This  little  stream  of  water,  as 
you  can  see  from  where  we  stand,  makes  rather  a 
sharp  turn  a  few  rods  down,  against  an  almost 
perpendicular  wall  of  rock,  forming  a  curve  in  the 
stream  that  can  be  likened  to  the  crook  in  a  bent 
arm,  and  leaving  quite  a  little  open  space  of  ground 
almost  on  a  level  with  the  water  in  the  bend  of  the 
arm.  Now  we've  discovered  that  there  is  a  deep 
hole  right  at  the  elbow  joint,  partly  filled  with  gravel 
and  big  enough  to  hold  a  good  many  tons  of  gold, 
but  too  deep  to  get  at  through  the  water ;  and  we've 
figured  it  out  something  like  this.  The  gold  found 
in  all  the  diggings  along  the  beds  of  rivers  has  been 
washed  out  of  the  rocks  by  the  water  and  carried 
down  by  the  current,  until  stopped  by  its  own  weight 
or  some  obstruction;  and  we  calculate  that  most  of 
the  gold  carried  down  by  this  stream  would  sink 
down  into  this  hole  and  stay  there,  because,  gold 
being  so  heavy,  it  would  sure  fall  down  into  the 
hole,  and,  once  there,  the  water  would  not  be  strong 


214  The  Cave  of  Gold 

enough  to  lift  it  out  again.  Now,  that  is  the  rea 
son  why  we  think  there  might  be  gold  and  lots  of 
it  in  that  there  hole/'  and  he  pointed  to  the  elbow 
made  by  the  curve  in  the  stream. 

"But,  of  course,  not  being  fish,  we  cannot  get 
down  into  the  hole  to  see  whether  or  not  there  is 
gold  in  it,  as  long  as  the  water  runs  over  it;  and 
so  we  are  making  this  wing  dam  up  here  above  the 
elbow,  to  turn  the  stream  into  a  new  channel  and 
send  it  flowing  kitti-corner-wise  across  the  open 
ing  between  the  two  arms  of  the  elbow  and  back 
into  its  own  channel  below  the  elbow,  which,  of 
course,  would  leave  the  elbow  dry  and  give  us  a 
chance  to  clean  out  the  hole  and  get  all  the  gold 
there  is  in  it." 

"Oh,  I  see  now!"  exclaimed  Thure,  his  eyes  be 
ginning  to  shine  with  excitement.  "And  you  call 
it  a  wing  dam,  because  you  have  to  make  a  sort  of 
a  wing  to  the  main  dam,  extending  for  quite  a 
ways  out  on  the  dry  land,  in  order  to  give  the  water 
a  sufficient  turn  to  keep  it  from  flowing  back  into  the 
old  channel  until  you  are  ready  to  have  it." 

"Exactly,"  and  Mr.  Conroyal  smiled.  "And,  if 
the  good  Lord  will  only  keep  it  from  raining  until 
we  get  the  dam  finished,  all  of  us  might  make  our 
fortunes  right  here ;  and,  again,  we  might  not  find  a 
cent's  worth  of  gold.  It's  all  a  speculation,"  and 
he  shrugged  his  big  shoulders. 

"But — but  what  difference  could  a  little  rain 
make?  You  are  not  afraid  of  getting  wet,  are 


Unexpected  Company  215 

you?"  and  Thure  smiled  at  the  thought  of  these 
hardy  men  standing  in  dread  of  a  little  rain. 

"No,  son,  we  are  not  afraid  of  getting  wet/'  and 
Mr.  Conroyal  smiled  grimly.  "But  a  big  rain  up 
there  in  the  mountains  where  this  stream  comes 
from,  would  mean  that  in  less  than  no  time  a  flood 
of  water  would  come  a-tearing  down  this  narrow 
gulch  that  would  sweep  our  dam  off  its  feet  quicker 
than  you  could  wink  an  eye — and  us  along  with  it, 
if  we  didn't  get  out  of  here  about  as  lively  as  the 
Lord  would  let  us.  Howsomever  we  are  not  count 
ing  much  on  a  rain,  seeing  that  the  dry  season  has 
got  a  fairly  good  start;  but  it  might  come,"  and  his 
eyes  turned  a  little  anxiously  toward  the  snow- 
covered  mountains  to  the  northeast,  whence  came 
the  little  stream  of  water  running  through  Holt's 
Gulch.  "But,  come,  we  must  get  busy.  Now,  the 
first  thing  for  us  to  do  is  to  figure  out  about  how 
much  longer  it  will  take  us  to  finish  the  dam.  I 
calculate  that  we  have  the  dam  about  two-thirds 
done ;  and,  since  we  have  now  been  at  work  twelve 
days,  I  think  we  can  count  on  finishing  it  in  another 
six  days." 

"That's  'bout  my  idee,  Con,"  agreed  Ham.  "An 
other  six  days  otter  see  th'  finish  of  th'  job;  an'  then 
— maybe  it  will  be  gold  an'  maybe  it  will  be  jest  a 
lot  of  durned  hard  work  for  nothin';  but  it  shore 
looks  good;  an'  I'm  in  favor  of  seein'  this  dam 
through  afore  tacklin'  th'  Cave  of  Gold  propersi- 
tion." 


2i6  The  Cave  of  Gold 

For  an  hour  or  more  our  friends  measured  and 
figured  and  considered ;  and  then,  all  coming  to  the 
conclusion  that  Mr.  Conroyal's  estimate  of  the  time 
required  to  complete  the  dam  was  about  right,  the 
Never-Give-Up  California  Mining  Company  went 
into  executive  session,  and,  after  again  considering 
the  marvelous  tale  of  the  dead  miner  and  again  ex 
amining  the  gold  nugget  and  the  skin  map  and 
again  carefully  weighing  their  chances  of  finding 
gold  in  the  hollow  of  the  stream's  elbow  after  the 
turning  of  the  water  aside  by  the  dam,  the  Com 
pany  finally  decided  that  the  dam  proposition  looked 
too  good  to  throw  up,  even  for  such  an  alluring 
project  as  the  hunt  for  the  wonderful  Cave  of  Gold, 
especially  since  the  Cave  of  Gold  could  not  run 
away  and  would  still  be  there  waiting  to  be  found 
after  the  dam  proposition  had  been  thoroughly  tried 
out.  Accordingly  it  was  voted  to  first  complete  the 
dam  and  see  if  there  was  any  gold  in  the  old  bed  of 
the  stream;  and  then,  if  it  was  still  the  wish  of 
the  Company,  they  would  start  on  a  hunt  for  the 
miner's  Cave  of  Gold. 

"That  means  for  everybudy  tew  git  busy  tew 
once  with  pick  or  shovel/'  and  Ham  jumped  to 
his  feet  and  seized  a  pick  the  moment  the  result  of 
the  final  vote  was  announced.  "We  want  tew  git 
this  here  dam  built  jest  as  soon  as  we  can,  an' 
find  out  what's  in  that  thar  hole ;  an'  then,  I  reckon, 
we'll  all  want  tew  have  a  try  for  that  thar  gold 
cave,  unless  we  gits  enough  gold  out  of  th'  hole 


Unexpected  Company  217 

tew  plumb  fill  us  all  up  with  gold,"  and  Ham 
grinned  joyously,  as  he  struck  the  sharp  point  of 
his  pick  down  deep  into  the  hard  dirt. 

There  was  always  the  prospect  of  a  big  find  in 
the  near  future  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  the  gold- 
digger.  What  did  his  condition  to-day  matter  to 
him,  when  to-morrow  he  might  fill  his  pockets  full 
of  gold!  When  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  shoulder 
his  pick  and  shovel,  pick  up  his  gold-pan,  and  go 
out  almost  anywhere  and  dig  enough  gold  out  of 
the  ground  at  least  to  live  on !  When  every  morn 
ing  was  cheered  by  the  possibility  of  striking  it 
rich  before  night,  and  the  discouragements  of  every 
night  were  lightened  by  the  thought  that  to-morrow 
might  be  his  lucky  day!  The  star  of  hope  always 
brightened  his  darkest  skies;  and  so  long  as  he 
kept  his  health,  he  usually  kept  his  courage  and 
good-nature.  Consequently  the  reader  need  not 
wonder  at  the  joyous  grin  on  Ham's  face,  when  he 
began  tearing  up  the  earth  with  his  pick;  for  every 
blow  might  be  bringing  him  a  step  nearer  to  a 
fortune ! 

The  building  of  a  dam  under  any  circumstances 
is  hard  and  dirty  work;  but,  when  the  only  tools 
are  picks  and  shovels,  when  all  the  dirt  that  can 
not  be  thrown  into  place  with  the  shovel,  must  be 
lugged  there  on  the  backs  of  the  laborers  them 
selves,  as  was  the  case  with  our  friends,  then,  in 
deed,  does  the  building  of  a  dam  become  about  as 
fatiguing  work  as  a  human  being  can  undertake 


218  The  Cave  of  Gold 

to  do,  as  Thure  and  Bud  both  discovered  long  be 
fore  the  night  of  their  first  day's  work  in  the  gold 
mines  of  California  came  to  bring  rest  to  their  ach 
ing  backs  and  arms  and  legs.  But  that  day  saw 
the  completion  of  the  wing  part  of  the  dam  and  the 
new  channel  so  far  as  it  was  thought  necessary 
to  dig  one  and  now  all  that  remained  to  be  done  was 
to  extend  the  dam  across  the  stream  itself;  and  this 
progress  put  all,  even  the  two  boys  notwithstand 
ing  their  weariness,  into  splendid  spirits. 

"I  reckon  it  won't  take  us  th'  hull  six  days  tew 
finish  th'  job/'  commented  Ham,  as  he  threw  down 
his  pick  and  wiped  his  perspiring  face  with  a  huge 
red  handkerchief  at  the  close  of  the  day's  work. 
"We  didn't  calculate  that  you  tew  yunks  was  such 
hosses  tew  work,"  and  he  grinned  into  the  faces 
of  Thure  and  Bud;  and  the  two  tired  boys  grinned 
bravely  back.  They  were  not  going  to  let  any 
body  know  just  how  very,  very  tired  they  really 
were. 

That  night,  when  the  returning  laborers  came 
within  sight  of  their  log  house,  they  were  greatly 
surprised  to  see  the  smoke  pouring  hospitably  out 
of  its  chimney  and  a  light  glowing  a  bright  welcome 
through  its  windows. 

"Now,  who  can  it  be!"  exclaimed  Ham,  the  mo 
ment  his  eyes  caught  sight  of  the  smoke  and  the 
light,  while  all  quickened  their  steps  and  their  faces 
brightened;  for  company  in  that  lonely  log  house 


Unexpected  Company  219 

was  such  a  rarity  as  to  be  most  gladly  welcomed. 
"Won't  expectin'  nobudy,  was  you,  Con?" 

"No,"  answered  Conroyal.  "I  can't  imagine 
who  it  can  be." 

"Maybe  it's  th'  minister  an'  his  wife  come  tew 
make  us  a  social-like  call.  Wai,  he  won't  git  no 
chicken  dinner,  if  it  is,"  and  Ham  grinned. 

At  the  door  of  the  house  the  mystery  was  solved 
by  the  sudden  appearance  in  the  doorway  of  the 
smiling  face  of  Mrs.  Dickson  glowing  with  the 
heat  of  the  fire  over  which  she  had  been  cooking 
and  her  own  happiness,  backed  by  the  grinning 
countenance  of  her  husband. 

"Dick  and  I  felt  just  as  if  we  had  to  celebrate 
our  good  fortune  someway,  or  bust,"  she  explained, 
smiling  and  bowing  to  the  astonished  men;  "and, 
of  course,  we  didn't  want  to  celebrate  it  all  alone, 
so  we  just  moved  in  here  for  the  celebration,  your 
house  being  larger  than  ours.  Now,  get  washed 
up  as  quick  as  you  can  and  come  right  in.  Supper 
is  almost  ready;  and  Dick  has  bought  out  nearly  all 
the  stores  in  Hangtown.  Thought  you  men  folks 
might  enjoy  a  taste  of  woman's  cooking  again," 
and  her  sweet  laugh  rang  out  joyously. 

"Got  everything  good  to  eat  they  had  in  Hang- 
town,  boys,"  and  Dickson  thrust  his  head  out  over 
one  of  his  wife's  shoulders ;  "and  Mollie's  cooked  a 
dinner  that  just  fairly  makes  a  fellow's  insides 
jump  to  get  a  whiff  of.  Whoop!  I've  taken  a 


22O  The  Cave  of  Gold 

good  Ten  Thousand  Dollars'  worth  of  gold  out  of 
that  hole  by  the  side  of  the  big  rock  already !  And 
there  is  more  left  there,  boys !  There  is  more  left 
there !"  and  the  happy  man  caught  his  wife  around 
the  waist  and  began  waltzing  with  her  around  the 
table. 

"Wai,  I'll  be  durned!"  was  the  way  Ham  ex 
pressed  his  feelings  at  this  unexpected  but  most 
welcomed  invasion  of  their  home;  and,  judging 
from  the  looks  on  the  faces  of  the  others,  that  was 
about  the  way  all  felt. 

Our  friends  promptly  hurried  away  to  the  spring 
to  "wash  up/'  as  the  Little  Woman  had  com 
manded  ;  and  soon  were  back  again,  with,  probably, 
just  a  little  cleaner  faces  and  hands  than  they  had 
had  before  in  weeks. 

"Now,  just  sit  right  down  to  the  table,"  Mrs. 
Dickson  urged,  the  moment  they  came  filing  in. 
"Everything  is  ready  for  you  to  begin  eating  right 
away ;  and  nobody  is  to  wait  on  ceremony.  I  know 
you  must  be  about  as  hungry  as  bears.  Dick  and 
I  have  already  eaten  until  we  are  both  about  ready 
to  bust,  the  things  looked  and  smelled  so  good 
we  couldn't  wait  no  how,  so  we've  got  nothing  else 
to  do  but  just  to  wait  on  you  big  hungry  men — 
There,  sit  right  down  there,  Ham,  in  front  of  that 
gold-pan  full — but  it  is  a  surprise ;  and  I  won't  tell 
you  what  is  in  that  pan  yet,"  and  she  pushed  the 
grinning  Ham  down  on  the  block  of  wood  that  did 


Unexpected  Company  221 

service  in  lieu  of  a  dining  chair  in  front  of  a  steam 
ing  covered  gold-pan. 

One  near  whiff  of  the  contents  of  this  pan  and 
Ham  jumped  to  his  feet. 

"Whoop,  boys!"  he  yelled.  "It's  chicken!  It's 
chicken  pie!  Whoop!  Hurrah  for  th'  Leetle 
Woman  I"  and,  whirling  suddenly  around,  he  threw 
one  big  arm  around  Mrs.  Dickson,  drew  her  quickly 
to  him,  and  gave  her  a  smack  on  one  of  her  rosy 
cheeks  that  sounded  like  the  report  of  a  pistol. 

"And  the  only  chickens  in  Hangtown  are  in  that 
pie/'  declared  Dickson  proudly.  "When  we  saw 
those  birds  Mollie  and  I  just  couldn't  keep  our  hands 
off  them.  They  seemed  to  be  just  a-begging  us  to 
buy  them  and  make  them  into  a  chicken  pie.  Now, 
fall  to,  boys ;  and,  with  every  mouthful  that  you  eat, 
think  of  our  good  luck.  It  means  a  lot  to  us,  boys, 
a  whole  lot  to  the  Little  Woman  and  me.  We  are 
going  back  to  our  dear  old  New  York  home  on  the 
beautiful  banks  of  the  Hudson — Hi,  there,  Ham! 
Just  start  the  chicken  pie  a-going  round.  You  are 
not  the  only  mouth  at  the  table/'  and  Dickson, 
doubtless  feeling  that  sentiment  was  beginning  to 
get  a  little  the  best  of  him,  rushed  excitedly  about 
the  table,  as  he  helped  to  pass  the  good  things  Mrs. 
Dickson  had  cooked  from  one  to  another. 

That  was  a  dinner  to  remember  as  long  as  one 
lived.  The  circumstances  of  its  giving  were  so  un 
usual  and  so  generous,  its  surroundings  were  so 


222  The  Cave  of  Gold 

unique,  and  its  jolliness  was  so  whole-hearted  and 
spontaneous,  that  ever  afterwards  it  was  one  of  th$ 
bright  spots  in  the  memories  of  all  who  were 
present. 

When  the  eating  was  ended  the  men  went  out 
side  and  built  a  huge  fire  in  front  of  the  house; 
and  then  sat  down  around  it  and  smoked  their  pipes 
and  told  stories  and  compared  mining  notes  and  dis 
cussed  the  ever-present  questions  of  where  the  gold 
came  from  and  how  it  got  there,  all  of  which  would 
make  interesting  reading,  but  which,  because  of 
other  events  that  are  crowding  forward,  must  be 
passed  over  thus  briefly. 

For  a  couple  of  hours  the  talk  around  the  camp- 
fire  continued;  Mrs.  Dickson  had  joined  the  circle, 
and  then  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dickson  both  rose. 

"It's  getting  late  and  we  must  be  going/'  de 
clared  Mrs.  Dickson. 

"Not  yit!  Not  yit!  Not  until  you've  sung  for 
us!"  cried  Ham,  jumping  to  his  feet.  "We  can't 
let  her  go  without  a  song,  can  we,  boys  ?" 

The  reply  was  an  unanimous  demand  for  the 
song;  and  Mrs.  Dickson,  smiling  and  bowing  and 
blushing,  like  a  happy  schoolgirl,  and  declaring 
that  she  was  afraid  she  had  eaten  too  much  to  sing, 
straightened  up  her  plump  little  body,  threw  back 
her  head,  and  was  about  to  begin  to  sing  in  the 
dark  shadows  where  she  stood,  when  Ham  caught 
her  by  both  her  shoulders  and  gently  pushed  her 
out  into  the  bright  light  of  the  camp-fire. 


Unexpected  Company  223 

"ThJ  song  wouldn't  sound  nigh  as  good,  if  we 
couldn't  see  th'  singer  plain/'  he  declared,  his  face 
seemingly  one  broad  grin.  "Thar,  that's  'bout 
right,"  and  he  swung  her  around  so  that  the  bright 
est  light  shone  full  on  her  face.  "Now  give  us 
good  old  'Ben  Bolt.'  Somehow  that  song  kinder 
seems  tew  sweeten  me  all  up  inside,"  and  Ham  sat 
down  almost  directly  in  front  of  Mrs.  Dickson. 

Mrs.  Dickson  had  a  sweet,  clear,  bird-like  voice, 
and  what  she  lacked  in  training  she  more  than  made 
up  in  the  feeling  she  put  into  the  words  she  sang; 
and  her  singing  always  touched  the  hearts  of  these 
lonely  miners  deeply.  But  to-night,  as  she  stood 
there,  with  the  ruddy  light  of  the  camp-fire  shining 
on  her  face  and  dimly  illuminating  the  surround 
ing  shadows  of  the  lonely  night  and  the  towering 
mountains  and  the  tall  pine  trees,  and  sang  the 
beautiful  words  and  melody  of  "Sweet  Alice,  Ben 
Bolt,"  she  struck  a  deeper  chord  still,  and  all  lis 
tened  like  men  entranced  until  the  last  note  died 
away  in  the  silence  of  the  encircling  night. 

"I  never  knowed  I  liked  music  so  well,  'til  I  heer'd 
th'  Leetle  Woman  sing,"  declared  Ham  the  mo 
ment  the  sound  of  Mrs.  Dickson's  voice  ceased. 
"Her  singin'  seems  tew  come  a-knockin'  right  at  th' 
door  of  a  feller's  heart.  Now,  dew  sing  us  an 
other  one,"  and  he  turned  pleadingly  to  Mrs. 
Dickson. 

"Yes,  I  will  sing  you  just  one  more  song;  and 
then  we  must  be  going.  It  must  be  nearly  ten 


224  The  Cave  of  Gold 

o'clock;  and  those  two  tired  boys  have  been  nod 
ding  their  heads  for  the  last  half -hour/' 

"Me!"  "We!"  and  Thure  and  Bud  both  sat  up 
very  straight.  "Oh,  we  were  just  nodding  our 
heads  to  keep  time  to  your  music.  Please  do  sing 
again." 

For  answer  Mrs.  Dickson  lifted  her  face  to  the 
sparkling  skies ;  and  then,  while  the  tears  gathered 
in  her  own  eyes  and  her  sweet  voice  trembled  a 
little,  she  sang  that  song  dear  to  the  hearts  of  all 
wanderers  no  matter  where  they  roam,  "Home, 
Sweet  Home." 

"Now,  good  night,  everybody.  Come,  Dick," 
and,  turning  quickly  the  moment  she  stopped  sing 
ing,  Mrs.  Dickson  caught  hold  of  her  husband's 
arm  and  hurried  away  before  the  spell  of  the  song 
and  the  singer  was  broken. 

A  half  an  hour  later  the  lights  in  both  the  houses 
were  out  and  their  inmates  sound  asleep. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

POCKFACE  AGAIN 

HPHURE  and  Bud  were  very  tired  and  very 
A  sleepy  and  both  slept  very  soundly;  but,  when 
the  door  of  their  house  was  suddenly  flung  violently 
open  some  three  hours  after  they  had  closed  their 
eyes  in  sleep,  and  a  voice,  hoarse  with  excitement, 
yelled :  "Fire !  Fire !  Fire !"  they  found  themselves 
out  of  their  bunks  and  on  their  feet  and  wide-awake 
almost  before  the  startling  cry  ceased  to  echo  in 
the  room. 

"Where,  where  is  the  fire?"  they  heard  Conroyal 
asking  excitedly,  as  they  hurried  into  their  trousers 
and  heavy  boots — they  had  slept  in  their  shirts. 
A  moment  later  came  a  cry  of  horror  from  Ham  in 
reply. 

"God  in  heaven!"  he  yelled.  "It's  Dickson's! 
Th'  Leetle  Woman!"  and  he  plunged  madly  out 
through  the  door,  followed  by  every  other  man  in 
the  house. 

Thure  and  Bud  were  close  behind  the  last  man. 
The  moment  they  were  outside  their  eyes  caught 
the  red  glow  of  the  fire  shining  wickedly  through 
the  openings  between  the  pine  trees  that  surrounded 
Dickson's  little  cabin,  and  raced  madly  toward  it. 

225 


226  The  Cave  of  Gold 

The  distance  was  not  great,  not  over  twenty  rods; 
and  they  soon  found  themselves  in  front  of  the 
burning  house. 

Dickson  and  his  wife,  half-dressed,  were  rush 
ing  madly  about,  empty  water-pails  in  their  hands. 
Already  the  red  flames  were  leaping  through  one 
of  the  windows;  and,  as  they  looked,  a  heavy  jet 
of  black  smoke,  swiftly  followed  by  a  long  tongue 
of  fire,  shot  out  from  the  roof  above  the  flaming 
window. 

"Buckets!  Buckets !"  yelled  Ham.  "Form  a 
line  tew  th'  spring  an'  pass  buckets  of  water  from 
it  tew  th'  house.  Here,  you,"  he  cried,  as  his  eyes 
caught  sight  of  Thure  and  Bud,  "back  tew  th' 
house  an'  git  everything  in  it  that'll  hold  water — 
pails,  gold-pans,  kettles,  anything — Hurry!" 

Thure  and  Bud  turned  instantly  and  sped  back 
to  the  house,  their  hearts  thumping  with  excite 
ment.  They  knew  the  value  of  moments  in  a  case 
like  this.  Thure  was  a  little  longer-legged,  a  little 
the  swifter  runner,  and  he  reached  the  open  door 
perhaps  a  rod  ahead  of  Bud  and  sprang  through 
it,  thinking  only  of  how  he  could  get  hold  of  the 
kettles  and  the  pails  and  the  pans  in  the  quickest 
manner  possible. 

The  room  was  dimly  lighted  by  a  ruddy  glow 
from  the  coals  still  burning  in  the  fireplace;  and 
by  this  light,  Thure,  the  moment  he  sprang  through 
the  door,  saw  a  figure  start  up  suddenly  from  near 
the  bunk  where  he  slept  and  turn  a  pock-marked, 


Pockface  Again  227 

face,  white  with  fear,  toward  him ;  and  then,  as  his 
momentum  carried  him  into  the  room  and  before 
he  could  lift  a  hand  in  self-defense,  he  saw  the  right 
hand  suddenly  swing  up  a  heavy  club,  as  the  figure 
leaped  toward  him,  and — a  blinding  crash  and  he 
knew  no  more  for  the  present. 

Bud  was  more  fortunate.  He  saw  the  figure,  saw 
the  blow  hurriedly  aimed  at  him,  in  time  to  spring 
aside;  and  then,  with  a  yell  of  rage,  for  he,  too, 
had  caught  sight  of  the  pock-marked  face  of  his 
assailant,  he  hurled  himself  toward  him. 

But  Pockface  had  had  all  of  the  fight  he  wanted ; 
for,  the  instant  he  struck  at  Bud  and  failed  to  hit 
him,  he  sprang  through  the  door. 

Bud,  in  his  mad  rush  to  get  at  the  man,  failed 
to  see  the  body  of  Thure  sprawled  out  on  the  ground 
at  his  feet,  and,  as  he  sprang  after  the  fleeing 
scoundrel,  his  feet  struck  the  body  and  pitched  him 
head-first  to  the  ground,  where  he  lay  for  an  instant, 
stunned  by  the  fall.  When  he  jumped  to  his  feet 
and  sprang  excitedly  to  the  door,  Pockface  had 
vanished  completely  into  the  darkness  of  the  night. 

There  was  no  use  now  of  trying  to  follow  him. 
Besides,  there  was  Thure!  What  had  happened 
to  him?  He — he  might  be  dead!  And,  with 
fingers  that  trembled  with  anxiety  and  dread,  Bud 
hurriedly  lit  a  candle  and  bent  over  Thure,  for 
the  moment  forgetful  of  the  fire  and  of  everything 
else  but  the  condition  of  his  friend. 

A  great  bump  on  the  top  of  Thure's  head  showed 


228  The  Cave  of  Gold 

where  the  blow  had  fallen;  but  he  was  breathing, 
and  Bud's  experience  in  such  matters  quickly  told 
him  that  he  was  only  stunned. 

On  a  box  in  a  corner  of  the  room  stood  a  pail, 
filled  with  water.  Bud  quickly  seized  this  pail,  and, 
in  his  excitement,  dumped  its  whole  contents  di 
rectly  down  on  the  white  face  of  Thure. 

A  shiver  ran  through  the  still  form,  then  both 
eyes  opened  and  stared  wildly,  blankly  around  for 
a  moment.  Suddenly  the  blank,  wild  look  left  the 
eyes,  and  Thure  struggled  desperately  to  get  on  his 
feet. 

"Did  he — did  he  get  the  skin  map?"  he  cried 
excitedly,  as  Bud  endeavored  to  quiet  him.  "I — I 
left  it  under  my  pillow.  Hurry!  See  if  it  is  still 
there.  Never  mind  me.  I'll  be  all  right  in  a  min 
ute.  Hurry  and  see  if  the  map  is  still  where  I  left 
it/'  and  he  pushed  Bud  impatiently  away  from  him. 

Bud  quickly  caught  up  the  candle  and  hurried  to 
the  bunk.  Both  pillows  lay  on  the  floor,  where 
some  hurried  hand  had  thrown  them,  and  the  little 
buckskin  bag,  with  its  precious  contents,  was  no 
where  in  sight.  Bud  jerked  off  all  the  blankets 
and  held  the  candle  up  high;  but  no  sight  of  the 
buckskin  bag  rewarded  his  efforts. 

"It  is  gone !"  and  he  turned  a  despairing  face  to 
Thure.  "He  got  the  map !  And  after  all  we  have 
gone  through!" 

"What !"  Thure  was  now  on  his  feet,  all  the  dizzi 
ness  gone,  and  rushing  toward  the  bunk.  "The 


Pockface  Again  229 

map  gone!"  and  he  seized  the  candle  from  Bud's 
hand,  and,  holding  it  so  that  its  light  illuminated 
the  whole  bunk,  stared  wildly  down  on  the  rumpled 
surface  of  the  rude  bedtick,  which  now,  the  blankets 
having  been  thrown  off,  showed  its  entire  surface 
to  the  light  of  the  candle.  There  could  be  no  doubt 
ing  his  own  eyes.  The  buckskin  bag  was  not  there ! 

"Gone!  It  is  gone!"  and  Thure  staggered  back 
from  the  bunk,  almost  as  if  he  had  received  a  blow. 
"But,"  and  he  straightened  up  suddenly,  his  face 
white  and  his  eyes  sparkling  with  rage,  "he  has 
not  had  time  to  go  far.  Get  your  rifle,  your  pis 
tols,"  and  he  sprang  to  the  rack  where  hung  his 
rifle  and  pistols.  "We  must  catch  him.  Oh,  if  I 
could  but  just  get  hold  of  him!"  and,  rifle  and 
pistols  in  hands,  he  rushed  to  the  door;  and  not 
until  the  glare  of  the  burning  house  met  his  eyes 
did  he  come  to  his  senses  sufficiently  to  see  the  folly 
of  rushing  blindly  out  into  the  darkness  of  the  night 
and  the  wildness  of  the  mountains  after  the 
scoundrel  who  had  fled  he  knew  not  whither,  or  to 
recall  the  purpose  for  which  he  and  Bud  had  been 
sent  back  to  the  house. 

"Mother  of  men!  We  are  forgetting  all  about 
the  fire !"  and  he  stopped  abruptly.  "Well,  it  would 
be  useless  to  try  to  find  him  now,"  and  his  eyes 
glared  wrathf ully  out  into  the  darkness  of  the  night. 
"The  buckets!  Hurry!"  and  he  rushed  back  into 
the  house. 

When,   a  few  minutes  later,   Thure  and  Bud. 


230  The  Cave  of  Gold 

loaded  down  with  kettles,  pails,  pans,  and  even  fry 
ing-pans,  rushed  pantingly  up  to  Ham,  who  stood 
at  the  end  of  the  long  line  of  men,  stretching  from 
the  house  to  the  spring,  throwing  the  water,  as  it 
was  passed  to  him,  with  his  great  strong  arms,  on 
the  fire,  he  turned  angrily  on  them. 

"Git  tew  th'  spring/'  he  shouted,  "with  them 
kettles  and  pails,  you  young — "  Then,  catching  sight 
of  their  white  faces,  he  stopped  abruptly.  "What's 
happened?'' 

"They've  got  the  map!" 

"Durn  th'  map!  Git  tew  th'  spring  with  them 
pails  an'  git  busy  with  th'  water,"  and,  with  a 
violent  swing  of  his  huge  body,  Ham  flung  a  large 
gold-pan  full  of  water  on  top  of  the  flaming  roof. 

Thure  and  Bud  at  once  hurried  to  the  spring. 

By  this  time  the  alarm  of  fire  had  raced  up  and 
down  the  gulches  and  ravines  of  Hangtown  and 
men  were  running  from  every  direction  toward  the 
burning  building.  Already  a  hundred  or  more 
men  were  stretched  in  a  long  line  from  the  house  to 
the  spring;  and  down  this  line  buckets  and  pails 
and  pans  of  water  were  passing  as  swiftly  as  strong 
and  willing  arms  could  send  them.  The  air  was 
filled  with  the  yells  and  cries  of  excited  men. 

Thure  and  Bud  at  once  pushed  their  pails  and 
buckets  into  service  and  promptly  joined  a  new  line 
that  was  forming. 

Fortunately  the  spring  was  a  large  one  and  the 
water  held  out;  and,  in  a  short  time,  a  great  shout 


Pockface  Again  231 

went  up  from  the  house  and  rushed  along  the  two 
lines  of  bucket  men  up  to  the  spring  and  echoed 
and  reechoed  triumphantly  up  and  down  through 
the  rocky  gulches  and  canyons  of  Hanktown. 

The  fire  had  been  conquered;  but  not  until  the 
larger  part  of  the  roof  had  been  burned  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  interior  furnishings  destroyed. 

The  cause  of  the  fire  was  a  mystery.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dickson  were  positive  that  it  did  not  come 
from  the  fireplace,  that,  in  fact,  it  had  started  in 
almost  the  opposite  end  of  the  house  and  nearly 
directly  under  their  bunk;  for,  when  the  heat  and 
the  smoke  awoke  them,  the  foot  of  the  bunk  and 
the  lower  end  of  the  bed-clothes  were  already 
ablaze.  Everything  inside  the  house  was  too  badly 
burnt  to  furnish  any  positive  clues;  but  it  was  the 
opinion  of  nearly  all  the  excited  men  that  the  house 
had  been  set  on  fire  purposely;  and,  if  they  could 
have  but  laid  their  hands  on  the  miscreant,  there 
would  have  been  as  speedy  a  hanging  as  the  one  had 
been  that  had  given  the  town  its  unsavory  name. 

The  moment  the  excitement  of  the  fire  was  over, 
Thure  and  Bud  hastened  to  their  fathers  and  hur 
riedly  told  them  what  had  happened  on  their  re 
turn  to  the  house  and  of  the  disappearance  of  the 
map. 

The  two  men  at  once  quietly  but  quickly  gathered 
the  other  members  of  the  company  and  soon  all  were 
back  again  in  the  house,  with  the  door  tightly 
closed. 


232  The  Cave  of  Gold 


and  Mr.  Conroyal  turned  to  the  two 
boys,  "tell  us  exactly  what  happened." 

Thure  quickly  told  all  that  he  knew  up  to  the 
moment  the  club  had  knocked  him  senseless  and  ex 
hibited  the  bump,  now  as  large  as  a  goose  egg, 
on  the  top  of  his  head  in  proof  of  the  story;  and 
then  Bud  related  his  part  in  the  adventure.  Both 
boys  were  certain  that  the  man  they  had  seen  in 
the  house  was  Quinley,  or  Pockface  as  they  con 
tinued  to  call  him. 

"An'  you  say  th'  skunk  got  that  thar  skin  map 
an'  gold  nugget  !"  and  Ham  sprang  excitedly  to  his 
feet. 

"Yes.  I  —  I  left  it  under  my  pillow.  We  found 
both  pillows  on  the  floor;  and  the  buckskin  bag 
gone.  The  man  was  standing  near  my  bunk  when 
I  rushed  in,  and  must  have  just  found  it.  Oh,  if  I 
only  could  have  got  hold  of  him  before  he  hit  me  !" 
and  tears  of  baffled  rage  filled  Thure's  eyes. 

"You're  sart'in  thj  bag  ain't  thar?"  and  Ham 
glanced  at  the  dismantled  bunk  and  the  disordered 
bed-clothes  scattered  about. 

"Look  for  yourself,"  and  Thure  sank  down  on 
one  of  the  rude  chairs  and,  throwing  his  arms  dis 
consolately  on  the  table,  laid  his  aching  head  down 
on  them. 

Ham  seized  a  lighted  candle  and  strode  over  to 
the  bunk,  followed  by  all  the  other  men.  He  held 
the  candle  over  the  bunk  and  his  eyes  swiftly 
searched  every  inch  of  the  surface  of  the  bedtick. 


Pockface  Again  233 

"Th'  yunks  are  right !  Th'  bag's  not  here !"  and, 
with  an  angry  growl,  he  seized  the  offending  mat 
tress  and  hurled  it  out  on  the  floor. 

There  was  a  soft  thud,  as  of  something  small  but 
heavy  striking  the  ground  of  the  floor;  and  then, 
with  a  yell  that  caused  Thure  to  jump  nearly  a  foot 
up  in  the  air  from  his  seat  at  the  table,  Ham 
dropped  the  candle  and  caught  up  something  from 
the  floor. 

"Hal'lujah!  Hurrah!  Amen!  Here  it  is!" 
yelled  the  excited  man,  as  he  held  up  where  all 
could  see  the  missing  buckskin  bag. 

In  his  mad  tumble  out  of  the  bunk  at  the  alarm  of 
fire,  Thure  must  have  knocked  the  little  bag  down 
between  the  mattress  and  the  side  of  the  bunk, 
whence  the  rude  hands  of  Ham  had  dislodged  it 
when  he  had  jerked  the  mattress  off  the  bunk;  and 
this,  probably,  was  all  that  had  saved  it  from  the 
fingers  of  Pockface,  for  the  pillows  lying  on  the 
floor  showed  that  he  had  evidently  searched  under 
neath  them. 

There  is  no  need  of  picturing  the  rejoicing  in 
that  log  house  for  the  next  few  minutes ;  but,  when 
all  had  quieted  down  and  were  beginning  to  talk 
sensible  again,  Rex  suddenly  jumped  to  his  feet 
with  an  exclamation  of  horror  and  rage. 

"The  curs !  The  cowards !  The  murderers !"  he 
cried  excitedly. 

"What's  bitin'  you?"  demanded  Ham  in  aston 
ishment. 


234  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"The  fire !  Can't  you  see  the  curs  set  Dickson's 
house  on  fire  on  purpose  to  get  us  out  of  the  way?" 

"Great  guns!  If  I  don't  believe  you  are  right!" 
and  Ham  leaped  to  his  feet,  his  face  white  with 
rage.  "An'  a  woman  asleep  in  th'  house!  They 
might  have  burnt  both  on  'em  tew  death!  They 
shore  won't  stop  at  nuthin'  tew  git  that  map !  An' 
tew  think  I  had  my  grip  on  that  red-headed  skunk's 
shoulder,  an'  I  only  knocked  him  down !"  and  Ham 
dropped  back  on  his  seat,  muttering  wrathfully  to 
himself. 

"I  reckon  Rex  has  the  right  of  it,"  and  Mr.  Con- 
royal's  lips  tightened.  "But  the  devilish  cunning 
of  it!  They  knew  that  whoever  had  the  buckskin 
bag  would  not  be  apt  to  sleep  with  it  on  him;  and 
they  calculated  that  the  sudden  alarm  of  fire,  com 
ing  when  all  were  sound  asleep,  would  so  startle, 
that,  for  the  moment,  even  the  skin  map  would  be 
forgotten  and  all  would  rush  out  to  help  put  out 
the  fire,  and  give  them  a  chance  to  search  the  house. 
Cunning,  but  as  devilish  as  it  is  cunning!  Think 
of  how  they  might  have  burnt  Dickson  and  the 
Little  Woman  in  their  bed !  By  the  good  God,  we 
would  be  justified  in  killing  either  one  of  them  on 
sight !"  and  his  rugged  face  hardened. 

"We  certainly  would/'  agreed  Mr.  Randolph 
emphatically.  "They  have  forfeited  all  their  rights 
of  manhood.  But,  I  fancy,  the  cunning  devils  won't 
give  us  a  chance  for  an  open  fight.  They  will  al 
ways  strike  from  behind  something;  but  now  that 


Pockface  Again  235 

we  know  they  are  on  our  trail,  we've  got  to  be  on 
the  lookout  for  them." 

"Tears  tew  me/'  and  Ham  held  the  buckskin 
bag  up,  "that  it's  this  here  thing  that  needs  special 
guardin'.  It's  th'  map  that  they  are  after ;  an'  they 
don't  'pear  tew  be  none  partic'lar  how  many  or  who 
they  kill  tew  git  it,  only  so  they  save  their  own  hides. 
Now,  I  reckon,  we've  got  tew  keep  an  eye  on  this 
here  map  night  an'  day  'til  we  gits  tew  th'  Cave 
of  Gold;  an'  then,  like  as  not,  we'll  have  tew  fight 
for  th'  gold.  First  off,  it  'pears  tew  me,  we  otter 
git  some  better  place  tew  hide  th'  map  since  them 
curs  seem  tew  know  'bout  th'  buckskin  bag,"  and 
Ham  took  the  fateful  map  out  of  the  little  bag  and 
spread  it  out  on  his  knees. 

"I  know,"  and,  in  his  excitement,  Thure  jumped 
to  his  feet  and  caught  up  the  map.  "I  know  a  good 
way  to  hide  the  map,  and,  maybe,  fool  them.  We'll 
leave  the  gold  nugget  in  the  bag,  and  I'll  sew  the 
skin  map  on  the  inside  of  my  shirt  bosom.  Then, 
if  they  should  somehow  get  hold  of  the  buckskin 
bag,  they'd  only  get  the  gold  nugget;  but,  to  get 
the  map,  they'd  have  to  get  me ;  and,  I  reckon,  dad 
and  the  rest  of  you  are  able  to  keep  them  from  doing 
that!" 

"That  sounds  sensible,"  declared  Ham. 
"Thure'll  always  have  his  shirt  on  his  back  night 
an'  day;  an'  so  we'll  jest  have  tew  keep  an  eye  on 
Thure.  I  reckon  that  idee  is  'bout  as  good  as  any 
we  can  think  of — only,  we  must  be  powerful  care- 


236  The  Cave  of  Gold 

ful  tew  keep  it  secret  an'  tew  never  let  th'  yunk 
git  out  of  our  sight  for  an  instant." 

After  a  little  discussion  all  agreed  that  Thure's 
plan  was  a  good  one;  and,  accordingly,  Thure  at 
once  took  off  his  shirt  and  carefully  and  smoothly 
sewed  the  skin  map  on  the  inside  of  its  bosom,  the 
face  of  the  map  toward  the  cloth;  and  then,  over 
all,  he  sewed  another  piece  of  cloth,  so  that  the  map 
was  completely  hidden  between  the  two  folds  of 
cloth. 

"There,"  he  said,  as  he  pulled  the  shirt  back  on 
his  body,  "I'd  like  to  see  Pockface  or  Brokennose 
get  the  map  now,  without  getting  me ;  and,  I  reckon, 
you  fellers  will  see  that  they  have  their  hands  full  if 
they  tackle  that  job/'  and  his  eyes  glanced  proudly 
around  the  little  circle  of  men,  who  had  gathered 
close  about  him  while  he  was  performing  his  in 
teresting  little  feat  in  sewing. 

And  Thure  had  good  reasons  for  his  pride  and 
confidence  in  his  comrades;  for  his  father  and 
Frank  Holt,  his  uncle,  and  Hammer  Jones  and  Rex 
and  Dill  and  Mr.  Randolph  were  all  old  trappers 
and  hunters  and  Indian  fighters,  who  had  been  tried 
by  every  form  of  peril  and  had  never  been  found 
wanting.  Indeed,  the  names  of  Hammer  Jones 
and  Noel  Conroyal  and  Steeltrap  Smith,  as  Frank 
Holt  was  once  called,  were  still  famous  throughout 
all  the  Rocky  Mountain  region,  for  the  deeds  of 
daring  and  skill  that  had  made  them  comrades  in 
fame,  as  they  often  had  been  in  fact,  with  trappers 


Pockface  Again  237 

and  Indian  fighters  like  Kit  Carson  and  Jim  Bridger 
and  Old  Bill  Williams  and  half-a-dozen  other  fear 
less  men,  whose  courage  and  pluck  and  wonderful 
skill  had  made  their  names  known  wherever  a  camp- 
fired  blazed  throughout  all  the  great  West.  Yes, 
Thure  had  good  reasons  to  believe  that  Broken- 
nose  and  Pockface,  cunning  as  they  were,  would 
certainly  have  their  hands  full,  if  they  got  the  skin 
map  away  from  him,  while  he  was  watched  by  such 
men  as  these. 

"They'll  have  tew  git  all  of  us  afore  they  git 
you,  son/'  declared  Ham,  in  reply  to  Thure's  as 
sertion.  "Now,"  and  he  stretched  his  big  frame 
and  yawned,  "seeinj  that  we've  'tended  tew  all  th' 
business  that  needs  'tendin'  tew  tew-night,  we'd 
better  try  an'  git  a  leetle  more  sleep  afore  mornin'. 
Leastwise  I'm  a-goin'  tew,"  and,  after  a  glance 
through  the  window  to  assure  himself  that  every 
thing  was  all  safe  and  quiet  around  the  Dickson 
house,  he  slipped  a  loaded  pistol  under  his  pillow 
and  climbed  into  his  bunk. 

Ham's  advice,  as  usual,  was  too  good  to  be  neg 
lected,  and  soon  all  were  in  their  bunks.  But,  just 
before  each  had  climbed  into  his  bunk,  he,  like  Ham, 
had  slipped  a  loaded  pistol  under  his  pillow.  They 
were  not  the  kind  of  men  to  go  unprepared  when 
danger  threatened. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

STORY  OF  THE  GREAT  DISCOVERY 

A  CHEERY  call  from  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dickson 
greeted  our  friends  the  next  morning,  as  they 
started  down  the  trail  on  their  way  to  the  wing 
dam.  Both  were  in  the  best  of  spirits  and  did  not 
appear  to  be  bothering  their  heads  in  the  least  over 
their  rather  exciting  and  unfortunate  adventure  of 
the  night  before.  Indeed,  what  could  the  burning 
of  a  log  cabin  more  or  less  matter  to  a  man  who 
was  digging  out  of  the  ground  from  five  to  ten 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  gold  a  day !  They  were 
busily  at  work  putting  on  a  temporary  roof  in  place 
of  the  one  the  fire  had  destroyed. 

"Lose  much?"  queried  Ham  sympathetically,  as 
the  little  company  came  to  a  halt  in  front  of  the 
ruins. 

"Only  a  little  worn-out  clothing  and  some  mighty 
poor  furniture/'  laughed  Dickson.  "Mollie  and  I 
calculate  we  can  fix  up  the  roof  by  noon  good 
enough  to  last  the  few  days  we  are  likely  to  remain 
here ;  and  the  time  it  takes  us  to  do  that  is  our  only 
real  loss.  You  see,  we've  decided,  if  we  get  as 
much  as  twenty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  gold  out 

238 


Story  of  the  Great  Discovery  239 

of  that  hole,  we'll  get  for  New  York  as  fast  as  the 
good  Lord  will  let  us ;  and  it  looks  now  as  if  it  was 
good  for  that  much,  at  least,  before  it  gives  out. 
Why,  it  won't  take  more  than  a  couple  of  days  more 
to  fix  us  all  right,  if  the  gold  continues  to  turn  up 
the  way  it  did  yesterday!  Hope  it  will  be  your 
turn  next." 

"Same  here/'  laughed  Mrs.  Dkkson.  "My,  but 
it  does  seem  good  to  be  digging  real  gold  up  out  of 
the  ground  in  handfuls.  Hope  that  wing  dam,  or 
whatever  you  call  it,  will  be  the  golden  key  that  will 
unlock  the  door  of  fortune  to  you  all." 

"We  all  shore  agrees  with  you  thar,"  grinned 
Ham.  "An'  we  all  hopes  that  y'ur  luck  will  con 
tinue,  'til  you  gits  enough  tew  send  you  back  home 
in  fine  style — not  that  we're  none  anxious  tew  see 
you  go,"  he  added  hastily,  "  'cause  'twould  be  'bout 
as  painful  an  operation  as  bein'  seperated  from  a 
sore  tooth,  to  be  seperated  from  that  singin'  ap- 
peratus  of  your'n.  We'll  be  expectin'  you  tew 
come  over  an'  sing  some  more  for  us  tew-night." 

"I  certainly  can't  refuse,  after  such  a  compliment 
to  my  singing,"  she  laughed  back. 

"It  almost  tempts  me  tew  try  hitchin'  up  myself, 
tew  see  them  tew  a-workin'  tewgether  as  happy  as 
tew  nestin'  birds,"  grinned  Ham,  as  our  friends, 
after  a  few  minutes'  longer  talk  with  the  joyful  and 
fortunate  couple,  continued  on  their  way.  "I  reckon 
that's  'bout  thj  kind  of  marriage  th'  feller  meant, 
when  he  said  they  was  made  in  heaven;  for  th' 


240  The  Cave  of  Gold 

t'other  kind'  pear  tew  be  made  in  t'other  place,"  and 
Ham  chuckled. 

That  day  they  succeeded  in  building  a  wall  of 
rocks,  piled  one  on  top  of  the  other  and  plastered 
together  with  clay  and  the  branches  of  trees,  across 
the  little  stream  itself  and  almost  high  enough  to 
force  the  water  to  flow  in  the  new  channel.  Con 
sequently  night  found  them  jubilant;  for  now  it 
began  to  look  as  if  they  might  complete  the  dam  on 
the  morrow,  and  this  was  doing  better  by  a  day 
or  two  than  they  had  expected  to  do. 

"I  reckon  we  had  better  bring  along  the  pails  and 
the  pans  to-morrow,"  Mr.  Conroyal  said,  as  he 
paused  with  Ham  and  Mr.  Randolph  for  a  last  cal 
culating  look  at  the  dam,  before  starting  for  the 
log  house  that  night.  "Looks  now  as  if  we  might 
complete  the  dam  and  turn  the  water  a  little  before 
night;  and,  if  we  do,  we  will  want  to  get  right  to 
work  at  the  hole.  It  sure  looks  as  if  we  had  struck 
a  good  thing  here,  boys,"  and  his  face  lighted,  as 
his  eyes  turned  toward  the  elbow.  "If  this  stream 
has  been  carrying  down  gold  the  way  some  of  the 
streams  have  in  this  section,  we'll  have  Dickson 
beat  by  a  wagon  load  or  two  of  gold  a  day.  I 
can't  see  how  it  can  help  turning  out  something 
big,"  and  the  gold-fever  light  that  shone  in  his  eyes 
began  to  sparkle  in  the  eyes  of  the  others. 

"It  shore  otter  turn  out  big  tew  pay  us  for  all 
this  work,"  and  Ham's  glance  slowly  wandered  over 
the  huge  piles  of  rocks  and  dirt  that  their  shovels 


Story  of  the  Great  Discovery  241 

and  strong  arms  had  reared,  "but  thar's  no  countin' 
on  what  it'll  do.  'Twouldn't  s'prise  me  none,  if  we 
took  out  a  wagon  load  of  gold ;  an',  ag'in,  'twouldn't 
s'prise  me  none,  if  we  didn't  take  out  a  thimble  load. 
Gold  is  'bout  as  unsart'in  an'  queer  as  women. 
When  you  think  you've  got  it  shore,  gosh,  it  ain't 
thar  at  all!  But,  I  reckon  you're  right  'bout  th' 
pans  an'  pails ;  an'  I  shore  hopes  you're  right  'bout 
th'  wagon  loads  of  gold." 

After  supper  that  night  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dickson 
came  over  and  joined  the  circle  around  the  big 
camp-fire  that  Thure  and  Bud  had  kindled  in  front 
of  the  log  house.  There  was  no  need  to  be  sav 
ing  of  wood,  when  all  one  had  to  do  to  get  it  was 
to  cut  it.  Wood  was  the  one  thing  that  was  free 
and  plentiful  in  Hangtown. 

"How  did  she  pan  out  tew-day,  Dick?"  queried 
Ham,  as  Dickson  seated  himself  on  a  log. 

"Well,"  and  Dickson  hesitated  and  glanced 
swiftly  and  just  a  little  suspiciously  around  the  cir 
cle  of  faces.  Already  the  possession  of  much  gold 
was  robbing  him  of  some  of  his  open,  free-hearted 
confidence  in  his  fellow  men,  was  drawing  tight  the 
strings  of  caution.  "Well,"  he  continued,  after  a 
swift  warning  glance  into  the  face  of  his  wife,  "I 
fear  that  we  have  about  come  to  the  bottom  of  the 
pocket.  Not  much  doing  to-day,"  but  the  light  in 
his  eyes  seemed  to  belie  his  statement. 

"Oh,  Dick,"  and  Mrs.  Dickson  turned  a  reprov 
ing  face  to  her  husband,  "how  can  you  say  that, 


242  The  Cave  of  Gold 

when  we  found  this,  and  a  lot  of  smaller  nuggets, 
and  a  good  three  thousand  dollars'  worth  in  gold- 
dust  besides !"  and  she  held  up  before  the  astonished 
eyes  of  the  circle  a  huge  gold  nugget.  "It  weighs 
exactly  five  pounds  and  three  and  three-quarters 
ounces,  and  is  worth  over  a  thousand  dollars  and 
the  Little  Woman's  face  glowed  with  triumph. 
"There,"  and  she  turned  a  pair  of  happy  but  defiant 
eyes  on  her  husband,  "I  just  couldn't  keep  a  thing 
like  that  to  myself;  and  I  shouldn't  want  to,  if  I 
could ;  and  I  told  Dick  that  I  couldn't  and  I  wouldn't 
keep  it  from  you  and  I  didn't,"  and  her  eyes  sparkled 
merrily.  "But  Dick  is  getting  a  little  afraid  that, 
if  it  becomes  known  how  big  our  find  really  is  it 
might  tempt  some  scoundrel  to  try  and  get  the  gold 
away  from  us." 

"Not  meaning  you  fellows,  of  course,"  and  Dick- 
son's  face  flushed. 

"Shore,  we  understand  an'  without  any  ex- 
plainin',"  broke  in  Ham  heartily.  "An',  Leetle 
Woman,  Dick's  more'n  half  right  'bout  bein'  some 
cautious  who  you  tells  y'ur  good  luck  tew.  Thar 
was  a  miner  murdered  for  his  gold  'bout  a  week  ago 
nigh  Sacremento  City;  an'  th'  murderers  worn't 
caught  an'  might  be  a-snoopin'  'round  Hangtown 
right  now." 

"Mercy!"  and  Mrs.  Dickson  turned  a  whitening 
face  to  Ham.  "Why,  there  is  hardly  a  lock  on  a 
door  in  all  Hangtown ;  and  most  of  the  miners  don't 
even  take  the  trouble  to  hide  their  gold-dust  se- 


Story  of  the  Great  Discovery  243 

curely.  I  thought  everybody  knew  that  the  climate 
of  Hangtown  wasn't  good  for  the  health  of  rob 
bers." 

"An'  so  it  ain't  for  them  that  gits  caught,"  an 
swered  Ham.  "But  humans  will  risk  anything, 
even  their  lives  for  gold.  Why,  it  wasn't  more'n 
a  week  ago  that  we  run  Skoonly  out  of  town  for 
stealin'!  So,  I  reckon,  'tain't  more'n  good  hoss- 
sense  for  you  tew  be  some  cautious  now  that  you 
are  gittin'  a  fortune  in  gold.  Not  that  thar's  any 
harm  in  a-tellin'  old  friends  like  us,  'cause  we 
knows  enough  tew  keep  mum  'bout  it,"  and  Ham 
glanced  warningly  around  the  circle  of  interested 
faces.  "But  'twouldn't  be  good  sense  tew  let  th' 
hull  town  know  th'  size  of  y'ur  pile.  It's  tew  goll 
durned  big  an'  temptin'.  Not  that  I  wants  tew 
scare  you,  Leetle  Woman.  Only  it's  jest  good  hoss- 
religion  not  tew  tempt  y'ur  feller  mortals  more'n 
it's  necessary.  Now  forgit  th'  gold  an'  give  us  a 
song." 

Ham  had  not  been  without  his  reasons  in  thus 
trying  to  arouse  the  fears  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dick- 
son  and  in  warning  the  others  to  keep  their  knowl 
edge  of  the  amount  of  Dickson's  find  to  themselves ; 
for,  since  the  night  adventure  of  Thure  and  Bud, 
he  knew  that  Quinley  and  Ugger  must  be  lurking 
somewhere  in  the  vicinity,  and  that,  if  these  two 
scoundrels  should  get  knowledge  of  Dickson's  great 
luck,  neither  their  gold  nor  their  lives  would  be 
safe. 


244  The  Cave  of  Gold 

Mrs.  Dickson  sang  a  number  of  the  old  songs, 
including  Ham's  favorite,  "Sweet  Alice,  Ben  Bolt" ; 
but  her  music  lacked  something  of  its  usual  soul- 
fervor.  Evidently  the  words  of  Ham  had  so  aroused 
her  fears  that  she  could  not  keep  her  mind  from 
wandering  to  the  little  pile  of  gold  they  had  left 
almost  unguarded  in  their  lockless  log  cabin;  and, 
in  a  short  time,  both  excused  themselves  on  the  plea 
of  weariness,  and  hurried  home. 

"Tew  bad  tew  scare  th'  Leetle  Woman,"  Ham 
said  regretfully;  "but  'twould  be  a  heap  worse  tew 
have  Quinley  an'  Ugger  git  that  thar  gold.  I  got 
scart  of  them  jest  as  soon  as  th'  Leetle  Woman 
showed  up  th'  big  nugget ;  for  they  must  be  a-lurkin' 
'round  here  somewhere,  keepin'  an  eye  on  us;  an', 
if  they  heer'd  of  Dickson's  gold,  they  shore  would 
try  an'  git  it.  Wai,  we'd  better  follow  their  ex 
ample  an'  git  tew  bed ;  for  we've  got  a  hard  day's 
work  afore  us,  if  we  finish  th'  wing  dam  an'  turn 
th'  water  tew-morrer.  I'm  goin',"  and  Ham, 
knocking  the  ashes  out  of  his  pipe  on  the  log  on 
which  he  was  sitting,  arose  and  went  into  the  house, 
whither  he  was  soon  followed  by  the  others. 

The  next  day  as  Thure  and  Bud  were  sitting  in 
the  shade  of  the  cool  side  of  the  gulch,  a  little  apart 
from  the  others,  eating  their  lunch  and  discussing 
the  great  find  they  expected  to  make  when  they 
turned  the  water  of  the  little  stream  into  the  new 
channel,  Thure,  whose  eyes  happened  to  be  looking 


Story  of  the  Great  Discovery  245 

down  the  gulch  at  that  moment,  suddenly  ex 
claimed  : 

"Hello,  look  who's  coming!"  and  he  pointed 
down  the  gulch  to  where  a  man  could  be  seen  walk 
ing  slowly  toward  them,  a  pick  and  shovel  and  gold- 
pan  slung  across  his  broad  shoulders,  a  Mexican 
sombrero  on  his  head  and  the  rest  of  his  body 
clothed  in  a  blue  flannel  shirt  and  linen  trousers 
that  had  once  been  white,  protected  by  deerskin 
leggings  and  thrust  into  the  tops  of  knee-boots. 

"Out  prospecting,  I  reckon/'  and  Bud  glanced 
curiously  at  the  advancing  stranger,  for  visitors  had 
been  rare  in  that  lonely  gulch.  "Let's  ask  him  to 
dine  with  us,"  and  he  smiled  as  he  glanced  at  the 
coarse  but  abundant  fare  spread  out  on  the  ground 
between  them.  "He  must  be  hungry,  if  he  has; 
lugged  those  things  on  his  back  far.  Hello!"  and 
he  turned  to  the  stranger,  who  by  this  time  had 
come  to  within  a  couple  of  rods  of  where  the  two 
boys  sat,  "You  are  just  in  time  to  help  us  finish 
up  these  beans  and  pork.  Come  and  have  a  seat 
at  our  table,"  and  he  grinned  a  welcome,  as  he 
nodded  toward  the  food. 

"I  don't  care  if  I  do,"  smiled  back  the  stranger, 
as  he  flung  pick  and  shovel  and  pan  from  his  back 
and  dropped  down  by  the  side  of  the  boys,  "espe 
cially  since  I've  got  a  little  jerked  venison  here  that 
I  know  will  taste  good  to  you,  if  you've  been  living* 
on  salt  pork  as  long  as  the  most  of  the  miners  have," 
and  he  began  to  undo  a  little  bundle  tied  to  the  end 


246  The  Cave  of  Gold 

of  his  pick,  and  presently  disclosed  a  chunk  of  dried 
venison  and  a  couple  of  ship-biscuits,  wrapped  up 
in  a  coarse  but  clean  cloth.  This  food  he  at  once 
laid  down  on  the  cloth,  which  he  had  spread  out  on 
Bud's  table,  and  bade  the  boys  help  themselves,  at 
the  same  time  and  without  any  further  invitation 
helping  himself  to  the  beans  and  pork. 

"Wait,  and  I'll  get  you  a  cup  of  hot  coffee,"  and 
Bud  jumped  to  his  feet  and  hurried  to  where  Ham 
was  superintending  the  boiling  of  a  pot  of  coffee 
over  the  camp-fire. 

"Say,  dew  you  know  who  that  feller  is  who  has 
j'ined  grub  with  you?"  queried  Ham,  grinning,  as 
he  filled  a  tin  cup  full  of  the  coffee  and  handed  it 
to  Bud. 

"Oh,  just  a  miner  out  prospecting,  I  reckon,"  an 
swered  Bud,  as  he  took  the  coffee.  "We  thought 
we  would  be  social  and  asked  him  to  share  our 
meal,"  and  he  started  back  with  the  coffee. 

"Wai,"  and  the  grin  on  Ham's  face  broadened, 
'"that  feller  is  James  W.  Marshall!" 

"What!"  and  Bud  stopped  so  suddenly  that  he 
•almost  spilt  the  coffee.  "Not  the  James  W.  Mar 
shall  who  discovered  the  first  gold  in  California!" 

"Th'  identicle  cuss,"  laughed  Ham.  "But  'tain't 
done  him  much  good  so  far." 

"Glory  be,  we  just  thought  he  was  an  ordinary 
prospector,  when  we  asked  him  to  share  our  lunch ! 
And  so  he  is  the  man  that  started  all  this  mad  rush 
for  California  gold,"  and  Bud's  eyes  turned  curi- 


Story  of  the  Great  Discovery  247 

ously  in  the  direction  of  the  stranger.  "Well,  he 
sure  don't  look  as  if  the  gold  had  done  him  much 
good." 

"That's  usually  th'  way  on  it,"  replied  Ham. 
"Th'  feller  what  finds  it  only  gits  th'  first  smell,  then 
'long  comes  some  other  feller  an'  gobbles  it  all  up, 
leavin'  th'  finder  nuthin'  but  th'  glory." 

"Maybe  we  can  get  him  to  tell  us  the  story  of 
how  he  found  the  gold,"  and  Bud's  face  lighted  up. 
"I'd  like  to  hear  it  from  his  own  lips." 

"Wai,"  grinned  Ham,  "jest  tell  him  that  he's 
'bout  th'  most  abused  man  in  all  Californy,  an',  I 
reckon,  he'll  open  his  heart  tew  you.  He's  pow'ful 
sore  over  everybudy  else  but  he  a-gettin'  th'  gold, 
an'  he  th'  discoverer." 

"Maybe  the  hot  coffee  will  do  as  well,"  laughed 
Bud,  as  he  hurried  back  to  his  guest. 

The  hot  coffee,  possibly  even  more  the  contagion 
of  the  joyous  enthusiasm  of  the  two  youths,  did, 
indeed,  seem  to  act  like  a  charm  on  Marshall's 
taciturn  and  soured  disposition ;  for,  before  the  meal 
was  half  over,  he  was  talking  freely  of  his  mining 
ventures  with  Thure  and  Bud;  and  it  needed  but  a 
few  well-directed  inquiries  to  bring  the  desired  story 
from  his  willing  lips. 

"How  did  I  happen  to  discover  the  gold?"  hek 
began,  as  if  the  boys  had  asked  him  directly  for  the 
story,  which  they  had  not.  "Well,  it  all  came  about 
in  this  way,"  and  he  settled  himself  into  a  comfort 
able  position.  "In  May,  1847,  Captain  Sutter 


248  The  Cave  of  Gold 

sent  me  up  the  American  River  to  look  for  a  good 
site  for  a  sawmill  that  he  wished  me  to  build  for 
him ;  and,  after  a  number  of  days  of  fruitless  search, 
I  found  what  looked  like  the  exact  spot  I  was  hunt 
ing  for  on  the  South  Fork  of  the  American  about 
forty-five  miles  from  Sutter's  Fort.  Captain  Sut 
ler,  you  may  be  sure,  was  well  pleased  when  I  told 
him  of  my  success ;  and  we  entered  into  a  partner 
ship,  according  to  which  I  was  to  build  the  mill 
and  he  was  to  find  provisions,  tools,  teams,  and 
pay  a  part  of  the  men's  wages;  and  in  August, 
everything  being  ready,  I  started  out  with  six  men 
and  two  wagons  loaded  with  the  tools  and  provi 
sions.  We  first  put  up  log  houses  in  which  to  live ; 
for  we  expected  to  remain  there  all  winter.  But 
this  was  done  in  no  time  for  the  men  were  great 
with  the  ax.  Then  we  cut  timber  and  fell  to  work 
hewing  it  for  the  framework  of  the  mill  and  to 
building  the  dam,  which,  with  the  help  of  about 
forty  Indians,  who  had  gathered  around  us  in  great 
numbers,  we  put  up  in  a  kind  of  a  way  in  four  weeks. 
When  the  mill  was  nearly  completed,  it  was  my 
custom  every  evening  after  the  men  had  quit  work 
to  raise  the  gate  in  the  mill-race  and  allow  the  water 
to  run  all  night,  in  order  to  wash  as  much  sand 
and  gravel  as  possible  out  of  the  race  during  the 
night;  and  in  the  morning,  while  the  men  were 
getting  breakfast,  I  would  go  down  and  shut  the 
gate  and  walk  along  the  race  to  see  where  the  work 
needed  to  be  done  for  the  day. 


Story  of  the  Great  Discovery  249 

"One  clear  cold  morning  in  January — I  shall 
never  forget  that  morning.  I  can  see  it  all  as  I 
sit  here — the  nearly  completed  mill,  the  slopes  of 
the  surrounding  tree-covered  hills,  the  water  pour 
ing  over  the  dam,  the  mill-race,  a  foot  or  so  of 
water  still  rushing  along  over  its  bottom — I  can 
see  it  all — " 

Marshall  paused,  his  eyes  staring  straight  in 
front  of  him,  a  peculiar,  dreamy,  wild  look  in  them 
that  sent  uncanny  chills  to  the  hearts  of  both  boys 
as  long  as  it  lasted.  What  was  he  seeing?  Vi 
sions? — Visions  of  what  that  morning  meant  to  a 
gold-mad  world? 

"No,  I  can  never  forget  that  January  morning/' 
Marshall  resumed,  after  perhaps  a  minute,  the  nor 
mal  look  again  coming  back  into  his  eyes;  "for  on 
that  morning  I  found  the  gold  that  has  set  the  world 
crazy  and  proven  little  more  than  a  curse  to  me," 
and  a  gloomy  bitter  look  clouded  his  face. 

"On  that  morning,  as  usual,  after  having  shut 
off  the  water,  I  started  to  walk  along  the  race, 
keeping  my  eyes  pretty  close  to  the  ground,  so  as 
to  make  a  note  of  where  the  ditch  needed  more  dig 
ging.  There  was  still  about  a  foot  of  water  run 
ning  in  the  race.  Suddenly  my  eyes  caught  a 
glimpse  of  something  shining  through  the  water, 
just  a  bright  little  gleam  of  yellow  lying  on  the  bot 
tom  of  the  ditch ;  but  the  first  sight  of  it  made  my 
heart  jump,  for  I  thought  it  might  be  gold;  and  I 
reached  my  hand  down  quick  through  the  water 


250  The  Cave  of  Gold 

and  picked  it  up  and  examined  it  eagerly.  The 
piece  was  about  half  the  size,  and  of  the  shape  of 
a  pea;  and  felt  and  looked  like  gold,  only  it  did 
not  seem  to  me  to  be  exactly  the  right  color:  all 
the  gold  coin  I  had  seen  was  of  a  reddish  tinge ;  this 
looked  more  like  brass.  I  looked  again  in  the  water 
and  saw  another  piece  and  picked  that  up.  Then  I 
sat  down  on  the  bank,  with  the  little  pieces  of  shin 
ing  metal  on  the  palm  of  my  hand,  and  began  to 
think  right  hard.  Was  it  gold?  I  recalled  to 
mind  all  the  metals  I  had  ever  seen  or  heard  of, 
but  I  couldn't  seem  to  think  of  any  that  looked  like 
this,  that  is,  that  looked  enough  like  it  to  make  me 
certain  of  what  it  was.  Suddenly  the  thought 
came  to  me  that  this  was  probably  nothing  but  iron 
pyrites,  or  fool's  gold,  that  I  had  heard  and  read 
of,  but  had  never  seen.  I  trembled  at  the  thought ; 
ior  by  now  I  had  become  considerably  excited  over 
the  possibility  of  its  being  gold.  But  iron  pyrites 
would  break  when  pounded !  I  jumped  to  my  feet, 
getting  more  excited  every  minute;  and  quickly 
iound  a  couple  of  hard  river  stones,  and,  putting  the 
pieces  on  one,  I  pounded  them  with  the  other.  It 
was  soft,  and  didn't  break!  It  must  be  gold;  but 
was  probably  largely  mixed  with  some  other  metal, 
possibly  silver,  for  I  thought  that  pure  gold  cer 
tainly  would  have  a  brighter  color. 

"I  don't  know  just  how  long  I  sat  there,  looking 
at  them  two  little  bits  of  yellow  metal  in  my  hand 
and  thinking  hard  of  all  that  it  might  mean  to 


Story  of  the  Great  Discovery  251 

me  and  the  men  with  me,  if  it  should  really  prove- 
to  be  gold,  for  I  sure  was  some  excited;  but,  when 
I  got  back  to  our  cabin,  the  men  had  finished  their 
breakfast  and  were  beginning  to  wonder  a  little 
what  had  become  of  me.  I  showed  them  the  two* 
pieces,  and  told  them  where  I  had  found  them,  and 
that  I  thought  they  were  gold.  This  excited  the 
men  a  good  deal;  and  I  had  some  trouble  to  keep 
them  from  dropping  everything  and  going  to  gold 
hunting,  leaving  me  finish  my  job  alone.  How 
ever,  I  told  them  that  as  soon  as  we  had  the  mill 
finished  we  would  give  a  week  or  two  to  gold  hunt 
ing  and  see  what  we  could  make  out  of  it,  and  this 
satisfied  them  for  the  time,  none  of  them  then 
dreaming  there  was  enough  gold  there  to  amount 
to  much. 

"After  this,  while  at  work  in  the  race,  we  all  kept 
a  sharp  lookout,  and  in  the  course  of  three  or  four 
days  we  had  picked  up  about  three  ounces,  our  work 
going  on  the  same  as  usual;  for  none  of  us  at  that 
time  imagined  that  the  whole  country  was  sown 
with  gold.  If  we  had — that  mill  sure  would  never 
have  been  completed,"  and  Marshall  smiled  a  little 
bitterly. 

'Tour  or  five  days  after  I  picked  up  those  two 
little  pieces  of  yellow  metal  I  had  to  go  to  Sutter's 
Fort;  and,  wishing  to  get  all  the  information  I 
could  respecting  the  real  value  of  the  metal,  I  took 
all  that  we  had  collected  with  me,  and  showed  it  to 
Captain  Sutter.  He  at  once  declared  that  it  was 


252  The  Cave  of  Gold 

gold;  but,  like  me,  thought  it  was  largely  mixe'd 
with  some  other  metal.  We  now  tried  to  hit  upon 
some  means  of  telling  the  exact  quantity  of  gold 
found  in  the  alloy ;  but  couldn't  figure  out  how  to  do 
it,  until  we  stumbled  upon  an  old  American  cyclo 
pedia,  that  gave  the  specific  gravity  of  all  the  metals 
and  rules  to  find  the  quantity  of  each  in  a  given  bulk. 
We  now  wanted  some  silver,  with  which  to  com 
pare  our  metal ;  and,  after  hunting  over  the  whole 
fort  and  borrowing  from  some  of  the  men,  we  man 
aged  to  get  three  dollars  and  a  half  in  silver. 
Captain  Sutter  had  a  small  pair  of  scales ;  and,  with 
the  aid  of  these  and  the  cyclopedia,  we  soon  ciphered 
it  out  that  there  was  neither  silver  nor  copper  in 
the  gold,  but  that  it  was  entirely  pure. 

'This  proof  that  the  metal  was  real  gold  ex 
cited  both  of  us  considerable;  but,  when  we  had 
cooled  down  a  little  and  talked  it  over,  we  con 
cluded  it  would  be  our  best  policy  to  keep  it  as  quiet 
as  possible  until  the  mill  was  completed.  Now,  at 
this  time,  there  was  a  great  number  of  disbanded 
Mormon  soldiers  in  and  about  the  fort,  and,  some 
how,  they  came  to  hear  of  it;  and  then  the  golden 
cat  was  out  of  the  bag,  for  the  news  that  gold  had 
"been  discovered  just  spread  over  the  whole  country 
like  wild-fire.  Indeed,  I  had  hardly  got  back  to  the 
mill,  before  men  with  picks  and  pans  and  shovels 
and  hoes  and  all  sorts  of  tools  began  coming  in, 
all  anxious  to  fall  to  work  and  dig  up  our  mill  by 
the  roots;  but  this,  of  course,  we  would  not  allow, 


Story  of  the  Great  Discovery  253 

although  I  sometimes  had  the  greatest  trouble  to 
get  rid  of  them.  I  sent  them  all  off  in  different 
directions,  telling  them  of  such  and  such  places 
where  I  felt  certain  they  would  find  gold,  if  they 
would  only  take  the  trouble  to  dig  for  it.  Not  that 
I  really  thought  they  would  find  any  gold,  for  at 
that  time  I  never  imagined  the  gold  was  so  abun 
dant  ;  but  they  would  dig  nowhere  but  in  such  places 
as  I  pointed  out  and  I  had  to  get  rid  of  them  some 
way.  I  believe  if  I  had  told  them  to  dig  on  top  of 
a  mountain,  that,  so  great  was  their  confidence  in 
me,  they  would  have  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  moun 
tain  and  began  picking  away  at  the  rocks/'  and 
something,  almost  a  twinkle,  came  into  Marshall's 
eyes,  brightening  their  somber  lights. 

"And  did  the  parties  you  scattered  through  the 
country  find  any  gold  ?"  inquired  Thure  eagerly. 

"Yes,  many  of  them  did,  to  my  surprise/'  an 
swered  Marshall;  "but  the  second  real  discovery 
of  gold  was  in  a  gulch  on  the  road  to  Sacramento. 
The  third  gold  discovery  was  made  on  a  bar  of  the 
South  Fork  of  the  American  River  a  little  above 
the  junction  of  the  Middle  and  South  forks.  The 
diggings  over  there  where  Hangtown  is/'  and  he 
flung  up  one  of  his  arms  in  the  direction  of  Hang- 
town,  "was  discovered  by  myself;  for  we  all  went 
gold  hunting,  as  soon  as  the  mill  was  finished. 
Some  Indians  found  the  diggings  down  at  Kelsey's ; 
and  thus  in  a  short  time  we  discovered  that  the 
whole  country  hereabouts  is  sown  with  gold,  thick 


254  The  Cave  of  Gold 

in  spots  but  thin  and  scattering  almost  all  over. 
Now  that  is  the  true  story  of  the  gold  discovery  in 
California,  right  from  the  lips  of  the  man  who 
picked  up  the  first  piece  of  gold,  and  who  has  had 
more  cheating  and  robbing  than  thanks  from  the 
men  the  discovery  has  helped  most,"  and  the  somber 
light  deepened  in  the  eyes  of  the  disappointed  and 
soured  man,  who  always  laid  the  blame  of  the  mis 
fortunes  that  seemed  to  follow  him  after  the  great 
discovery  on  the  ingratitude  of  his  fellow  men, 
rather  than  on  his  own  inability  to  use  the  oppor 
tunities  that  a  kindly  fate  had  thrust  in  his  way. 

"Well,  it  sure  does  seem  hard,"  sympathized  Bud, 
"that  you,  who  discovered  the  gold,  should  be  able  to 
get  so  little  of  it.  But,"  and  his  face  brightened, 
"your  luck  may  change  to-morrow,  and  you  may  yet 
live  to  see  yourself  one  of  the  richest  men  in  Cali 
fornia." 

Here  the  huge  form  of  Hammer  Jones  broke  in  on 
the  three. 

"How  d'dew,  Jim,"  and  Ham  reached  down  a  big 
hand  and  gripped  the  hand  of  Marshall.  "Ben 
tellin'  th'  yunks  all  'bout  th'  Great  Discovery,  I 
reckon?"  and  he  grinned.  "Wai,  if  you'll  jest  sot 
down  an'  make  y'urself  easy  for  'bout  three  hours, 
'til  we  puts  the  finishin'  touches  on  this  here  dam,  I 
shouldn't  be  none  s'prised  if  we  was  able  tew  show 
you  somethin'  of  a  discovery  ourselves,"  and  Ham 
pointed  to  the  now  nearly  completed  dam. 

Marshall  at  once  became  greatly  interested,  when 


Story  of  the  Great  Discovery  255 

Ham  had  explained  to  him  what  they  hoped  the  dam 
would  do  for  them ;  and  not  only  agreed  to  wait  until 
the  completion  of  the  dam,  but  to  help  in  its  comple 
tion  ;  and,  in  a  few  minutes  more,  all  were  again  at 
work,  spurred  to  extraordinary  exertions  by  the 
thought  that  a  few  short  hours  more  would  tell  the 
story  of  their  success  or  failure. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

SOME   EXCITING   MOMENTS 

EXACTLY  at  three  o'clock,  by  Mr.  Conroyal's 
big  silver  watch,  the  last  shovel  of  dirt  and  the 
last  stone  was  thrown  on  the  dam ;  and,  with  cheers 
that  echoed  and  reechoed  up  and  down  the  narrow 
gulch,  our  friends  saw  all  the  water  of  the  little 
stream  flowing  into  its  new  channel. 

"Now  get  your  pans  and  pails,  and  we'll  hustle  the 
water  out  of  the  hole,  so  that  we  can  get  at  the  dirt," 
Mr.  Conroyal  cried  excitedly,  the  moment  it  was 
seen  that  the  dam  was  working  perfectly  and  that 
the  old  bed  of  the  stream  below  the  dam  was  fast  be 
coming  dry. 

With  another  cheer,  each  grabbed  up  a  pan  or  a 
pail,  and  all  made  a  rush  for  the  hole  in  the  elbow 
of  the  now  nearly  drained  bed  of  the  stream,  acting 
more  like  an  excited  troop  of  school  boys  than  gray- 
haired  and  long-bearded  men,  as  some  of  them  were. 

The  old  bed  of  the  stream  was  solid  rock,  worn 
smooth  by  the  action  of  the  water;  and,  as  Thure 
and  Bud,  in  their  anxiety  to  be  the  first  to  reach  the 
hole,  raced  down  this,  Thure's  feet  suddenly  slipped 
on  the  wet  rock  and  down  he  went,  the  gold-pan  he 
was  carrying  flying  from  his  hands  and  banging 

256 


Some  Exciting  Moments  257 

loudly  as  it  slid  for  a  short  distance  over  the  hard 
rock.  He  jumped  quickly  to  his  feet,  fortunately 
unhurt,  and  bent  hastily  to  pick  up  the  pan.  As  he 
lifted  the  pan,  which  had  been  stopped  by  a  bit  of 
rock  that  projected  a  couple  of  inches  above  the  level 
of  the  bed,  his  eyes  caught  a  bright  gleam  that  came 
from  the  upper  side  of  the  projecting  rock. 

For  an  instant  Thure  stared  wildly  at  the  shining 
bit  of  metal  lodged  against  the  rock ;  and  then,  with 
a  yell  that  brought  everybody  to  a  halt,  he  dropped 
the  pan  and  grabbed  the  bit  of  metal. 

"Gold!  Gold!"  he  shouted  excitedly,  as  he  held 
up  between  the  thumb  and  finger  of  his  right  hand 
the  bit  of  metal  he  had  picked  up,  which  was  about 
the  size  and  something  the  shape  of  his  thumb. 

In  a  moment  all  were  crowded  around  him,  ea 
gerly  examining  the  nugget. 

"It  certainly  is  gold!"  declared  Marshall,  as  he 
hefted  the  nugget  on  the  palm  of  his  hand. 

"Hurra,  that's  a  durned  good  sign  that  that  thar 
hole  is  chuck  full  of  it  I"  cried  Ham,  excitedly  swing 
ing  the  gold-pan  he  held  in  his  hand  around  his  head. 
"Come  on !  Let's  git  that  water  out  of  th'  way  an' 
down  tew  pay-dirt,  jest  as  quick  as  th'  Lord'll  let 
us,"  and  he  started  on  the  run  for  the  hole,  followed 
by  all  the  others. 

The  hole  in  the  point  of  the  elbow  of  the  old  chan 
nel  of  the  stream  was  about  twenty  feet  across ;  and 
now,  of  course,  was  level  full  of  water,  which  had  to 
be  thrown  out  before  any  digging  could  be  done. 


258  The  Cave  of  Gold 

Ham,  who  had  a  long  pair  of  rubber  boots,  bought 
on  purpose  for  this  occasion,  now  slipped  them  on 
his  feet,  pulled  the  legs  up  to  his  waist,  where  he 
fastened  them  to  his  belt,  seized  one  of  the  pails,  and 
stepped  into  the  hole.  At  the  first  step  he  went 
down  to  the  knee,  at  the  second,  nearly  to  the  tops  of 
his  rubber  boots,  but  the  third  step  lowered  him  in 
the  water  only  a  couple  of  inches. 

"Gosh,  'tain't  deep !  We  can  have  th'  water  out 
of  here  in  no  time.  Now,  jest  git  in  line  an'  I'll 
pass  th'  water  out  tew  you,"  and  he  plunged  the  pail 
down  into  the  water,  and  quickly  passed  it  to  the 
man  standing  the  nearest  to  him,  who  passed  it  on 
down  a  line  that  had  been  quickly  formed  until  the 
last  man  was  far  enough  down  for  the  water,  when 
thrown  on  the  ground,  to  run  off  down  the  old  chan 
nel. 

There  were  enough  pans  and  pails  to  keep  a  con 
stant  stream  of  them  passing  up  and  down  the  line; 
and,  as  everybody,  under  the  spur  of  the  thought  of 
what  might  lie  hidden  there  in  that  hole,  worked 
with  feverish  haste,  the  water  was  speedily  lowered, 
until  after  an  hour  of  as  hard  and  tiresome  work  as 
was  ever  done  by  men,  the  bottom  of  the  hole  was 
laid  bare. 

"We'll  dig  a  hole  first  off  right  in  th'  center  of  th' 
hole  plumb  down  to  bed-rock,"  declared  Ham,  as  he 
passed  out  the  last  pailful  of  water.  "Then,  if 
thar's  any  gold  here,  we'll  strike  it  shore.  Throw 
me  a  shovel !"  Ham's  face  was  flushed  and  his  eyes 


Some  Exciting  Moments  259 

were  sparkling  with  excitement;  for  now  the  great 
moment  was  near,  the  moment  that  would  tell 
whether  or  not  all  their  labor  had  been  in  vain, 
whether  or  not  they  were  to  find  the  expected  gold. 

"Here!  Here!"  and  Thure  caught  up  a  shovel 
and  rushed  to  Ham;  and  almost  collided  with  Bud, 
who,  shovel  in  hand,  was  also  rushing  to  Ham. 

"Let  us  help  you  dig!  Let  us  help  you  dig!" 
cried  both  boys,  almost  beside  themselves  with  ex 
citement. 

"Now,  jest  hold  y'ur  hosses  an'  git  out  of  here. 
This  is  men's  work,"  and  Ham  good-naturedly 
thrust  the  two  boys  aside,  caught  up  a  shovel,  and 
began  throwing  up  the  moist  sand  and  gravel  like 
an  animated  steam  shovel. 

The  hole  was  partly  filled  with  coarse  sand  and 
gravel;  and,  since  gold  is  so  heavy  that  it  will  sink 
down  through  sand  and  gravel  until  it  comes  to 
something  more  solid,  all  this  had  to  be  thrown  off 
before  they  could  hope  to  come  to  pay-dirt,  which  is 
usually  a  thin  layer  of  gravel  or  clay  lying  on  top  of 
the  bed-rock.  Ham  was  now  digging  down  to  this 
bed-rock;  and,  when  he  reached  it,  he  would  throw 
a  few  shovels  of  the  dirt  directly  on  its  top  into  a 
gold-pan,  and  then  a  few  minutes'  washing  of  the 
dirt  in  the  pan  would  show  whether  or  not  they  had 
struck  gold.  The  hole  he  was  digging  was  not  large 
enough  for  more  than  one  man  to  work  in  it  at  a 
time,  consequently  the  others  formed  a  circle  around 
Ham  and  watched  his  progress  with  faces  feverish 


2<5o  The  Cave  of  Gold 

with  excitement,  any  one  of  them  ready  the  moment 
Ham  tired  to  seize  a  shovel  and  jump  into  the  hole  in 
his  place.  But  the  shoveling  was  not  hard  and  the 
sturdy  muscles  of  Ham  did  not  tire. 

In  the  excitement  of  these  thrilling  minutes  no 
body  saw  anything  but  Ham,  nobody  heard  anything 
but  the  push  of  his  shovel  through  the  moist  gravel 
and  the  thud  of  the  dirt  as  it  fell  on  top  of  the 
ground.  It  is  doubtful  if  a  cannon  fired  within  a 
rod  of  them,  would  have  made  one  of  them  jump. 
Hence  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  none  of  them 
saw  the  black  clouds  gathering  about  the  tops  of  the 
mountains  to  the  northeast  and  swiftly  sweeping 
down  toward  them,  nor  heard  the  peals  of  distant 
thunder,  sounding  louder  and  nearer  with  the  pass 
ing  of  each  minute.  The  gold-fever  was  hot  in  their 
blood;  and  they  were  deaf  and  blind  to  all  but  the 
digging  man. 

Ham's  shovel  bit  swiftly  down  into  the  soft,  moist 
sand.  Now  he  is  down  to  his  waist.  Now  only  his 
shoulders  show  above  the  top  of  the  hole.  Sud 
denly,  with  a  violent  grunt,  he  straightens  up. 

"Bed-rock !"  he  yells,  and  begins  digging  again. 

The  excitement  is  now  intense.  Nearly  every  one 
has  a  gold-pan  in  his  hand,  and  is  holding  it  out  to 
ward  Ham,  ready  to  receive  the  first  shovel  of  pay- 
'dirt.  That  first  shovel  of  dirt  means  so  much,  pos 
sibly  a  fortune  for  all!  Even  the  graybeards,  Mr. 
Conroyal  and  Rad  Randolph  and  Frank  Holt,  men 
who  could,  who  often  had  faced  death  without  the 


Some  Exciting  Moments  261 

quiver  of  a  muscle,  are  now  all  of  a  tremble  with  ex 
citement.  Thure  and  Bud  are  both  bending  for 
ward  so  far  that  there  is  danger  of  their  tumbling 
into  the  hole  on  top  of  Ham. 

For  a  couple  of  minutes  longer  Ham  shovels  out 
the  dirt,  but  more  slowly  and  carefully  now. 

"Give  me  a  pan,"  and  he  suddenly  straightens  up, 
seizes  one  of  the  pans,  and  disappears  in  the  hole. 
A  moment  later  he  jumps  out  of  the  hole,  the  pan 
nearly  filled  with  dirt  in  his  hands,  and  races  like  a 
mad  man  with  it  to  the  little  stream  of  water,  fol 
lowed  by  all  the  others. 

In  the  excitement  of  the  moment  no  one  notices 
how  dark  it  is  becoming,  nor  hears  an  ominous 
sound,  a  distant  roar,  each  second  growing  louder, 
and  coming  from  far  up  the  gulch. 

Ham  reaches  the  water,  and,  plunging  the  pan 
down  into  it,  begins  carefully  stirring  its  contents 
with  his  big  fingers.  Around  him  bend  the  others, 
regardless  of  wet  feet.  In  a  few  minutes  the  larger 
part  of  the  sand  and  the  gravel  is  washed  out  of  the 
pan  by  the  water.  Now  only  a  thin  layer  of  black 
sand  remains  on  the  bottom  of  the  pan.  The  cru 
cial  instant  has  come.  Ham  slowly  straightens  up, 
carefully  pours  all  the  water  out  of  the  pan,  bends  his 
head  down  close  over  it,  and  begins  moving  the  thin 
layer  of  black  sand  about  with  his  fingers. 

"Is  there,  is  there  any  gold?"  queries  Thure,  una 
ble  longer  to  keep  silent. 

Ham  does  not  answer  for  a  moment,  but  continues 


262  The  Cave  of  Gold 

to  stir  the  sand  with  his  big  fingers,  bending  his  head 
still  closer  to  the  pan. 

"Not  a  durned  smell !"  and  he  suddenly  hurls  the 
pan  violently  from  him. 

At  this  moment  Mr.  Conroyal  utters  a  startled 
exclamation  and  glances  quickly  up  the  gulch.  One 
look  is  sufficient  to  turn  his  face  white.  From  where 
he  stands  he  can  see  straight  up  the  gulch  for  nearly 
half  a  mile ;  and  half  that  distance  up  the  gulch  he 
sees  a  dark  gray  wall,  ten  feet  high,  topped  with 
white,  rushing  down  toward  him  with  the  speed  of  a 
race  horse,  and  hears  a  roar  like  the  rushing  charge 
of  a  thousand  cavalrymen. 

"My  God,  a  flood!"  he  yells.  "Climb  for  your 
lives!" 

There  was  no  need  of  a  second  warning.  All 
could  now  see  the  advancing  flood,  could  hear  the 
deafening  roar,  could  feel  the  solid  earth  beginning 
to  tremble  beneath  their  feet ;  and  all  began  to  climb 
for  their  lives  up  the  steep  side  of  the  gulch.  There 
was  no  time  to  stop  to  pick  up  anything.  Pans, 
shovels,  picks,  and  such  parts  of  their  clothes  as  hap 
pened  to  be  off  their  bodies  they  left  where  they  lay. 

Thure  and  Bud  happened  to  be  climbing  almost  di 
rectly  under  Marshall.  Suddenly,  before  they  were 
above  the  danger  line  and  when  the  flood  was  almost 
upon  them,  Marshall's  feet  slipped  and  he  slid  past 
the  boys  down  directly  in  front  of  the  advancing 
flood.  It  looked  like  death  to  stop  to  help  him ;  but 
neither  boy  hesitated  an  instant. 


BUD  BENT  AND  STRETCHED  HIS  FRF.E  HAND   DOWN  TO  MARSHALL. 


Some  Exciting  Moments  263 

"Here,  grip  wrists !"  yelled  Thure,  who  was  a  lit 
tle  above  Bud.  "I  will  hold  you  while  you  pull 
Marshall  up." 

Bud  instantly  saw  what  was  wanted;  and,  in 
another  moment  the  two  arms  of  the  boys  were 
locked  together  in  a  grip  almost  impossible  to 
break. 

"Now  reach  down  and  try  and  get  hold  of  one  of 
Marshall's  hands.  Quick!"  and  Thure  gripped, 
with  the  strength  of  desperation,  the  point  of  a  pro 
jecting  rock  with  his  free  left  hand  and  planted  his 
feet  firmly  on  the  narrow  ledge  -where  he  stood. 

"Here,  catch  hold  of  my  hand,  quick,"  and  Bud 
bent  and  stretched  his  free  hand  down  to  Marshall, 
who,  with  a  face  as  white  as  death,  was  vainly  strug 
gling  to  climb  up  the  almost  perpendicular  side  of 
the  rock  down  which  he  had  slid. 

Marshall  saw  the  hand  and  caught  it,  as  a  drown 
ing  man  would  grasp  a  beam  of  wood  floating  within 
his  reach. 

There  was  a  terrible  wrench  on  the  arms  and 
bodies  of  the  two  boys,  but  neither  broke  his  hold; 
and,  with  a  tremendous  pull,  Marshall  was  jerked  up 
on  the  ledge  of  rock  on  which  they  were  standing, 
and,  in  another  moment  the  three  had  climbed  to 
Safety,  just  as  the  flood  swept  by  them,  so  close  that 
they  were  covered  with  the  foam  that  rode  on  its 
top. 

For  a  minute  the  three  stood  panting  and  trem 
bling  where  they  were ;  and  then  they  climbed  to  the 


264  The  Cave  of  Gold 

broad  ledge  where  all  had  halted  out  of  reach  of  the 
flood. 

Mr.  Conroyal  gripped  Thure's  hand  and  held  it 
warmly  for  a  minute ;  but  he  did  not  speak  a  word. 
There  was  no  need ;  for  Thure  understood. 

Mr.  Randolph  was  a  little  more  demonstrative,  but 
he  said  little. 

The  two  boys  had  done  exactly  what  the  two 
men  expected  their  sons  to  do;  and  the  hearts  of 
both  were  glad  and  proud,  but  neither  man  showed 
his  pride  in  their  brave  action,  only  his  joy  that 
they  had  escaped  the  flood. 

Marshall,  the  moment  their  fathers  dropped  their 
hands,  seized  a  hand  of  each  boy  in  each  of  his 
hands  and  started  to  thank  them,  with  tears  in  his 
eyes ;  but  both  boys  quickly  jerked  their  hands  away. 

"Forget  it,"  Thure  said  impatiently.  "We  only 
did  what  you  or  any  other  man  would  have  done 
under  the  same  circumstances — Great  Moses,  just 
look  at  that  water!"  and  Thure's  eyes  turned  to 
the  flood  that  was  now  foaming  and  boiling  a  few 
feet  beneath  them. 

At  this  moment  the  edge  of  the  black  clouds  swept 
over  them,  and  the  rain  fell  down  in  torrents;  but 
in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  clouds  had  passed,  and 
the  sun  was  shining  again,  and  the  violence  of  the 
flood  was  beginning  to  slacken.  In  half  an  hour 
the  flood  had  swept  by;  and  with  it  had  gone  every 
vestige  of  the  wing  dam  they  had  builded  with  so 
much  labor  and  with  so  many  high  hopes. 


Some  Exciting  Moments  265 

"Burn  th'  durned  dam!"  and,  without  another 
word,  Ham  turned  his  back  on  the  scene  of  their 
fruitless  labors,  and  strode  off  toward  Hangtown, 
followed  by  all  the  others,  who  fervently  echoed  his 
words  in  their  hearts. 


CHAPTER  XX 

. 

ROBBED 

"NTOW  I'll  say  good-by  to  you  men/'  Marshall 
1  ^  said,  when  they  reached  the  outskirts  of 
Hangtown.  "I  am  real  sorry  that  your  venture 
turned  out  the  way  that  it  did;  but  a  man  has  got 
to  expect  any  sort  of  luck  in  the  diggings,  and 
usually  it  is  the  worst  sort  that  he  gets  dealt  out 
to  him,  at  least  that  has  been  my  experience,"  and 
he  smiled  bitterly. 

Marshall  now  stood  for  a  moment,  irresolutely, 
his  eyes  fixed  on  Thure  and  Bud;  and  then,  sud 
denly,  he  thrust  one  of  his  hands  deep  into  his 
trousers  pocket  and  drew  out  a  little  roll  of  buck 
skin,  carefully  folded  and  tied.  This  little  packet 
he  at  once  untied  and  unrolled  and  brought  to  light 
two  small  gold  nuggets.  With  one  of  these  in 
either  hand  he  now  approached  Thure  and  Bud. 

"My  young  friends/'  he  said,  "I  do  not  know  as 
the  life  you  saved  is  of  much  value ;  but  still  I  prize 
it,  being  the  only  life  I  have;  and  I  want  to  show 
you  that  I  appreciate  the  quickness  and  the  bravery 
of  your  action,  and  to  leave  with  you  some  memento 
of  the  deed  and  of  the  man  you  saved  from  a  hor 
rible  death.  I  am  poor,  others  have  grown  rich 

266 


Robbed  267 

off  my  misfortunes — "  Again  that  bitter  look  of 
mingled  discontent  and  useless  rebellion  swept  over 
his  face — "but  I  still  have  left  these  two  little  nug 
gets  of  gold,  the  very  two  pieces  of  gold  that  I 
picked  up  from  the  mill-race  on  that  cold  January 
morning,  the  first  two  nuggets  of  gold  found  in 
California !  I  prize  them  above  everything  else  that 
I  possess;  and,  because  they  are  so  dear  to  me,  I 
now  most  willingly  give  them  to  you,  to  keep  in 
memory  of  this  day  and  of  the  unfortunate  man 
whose  life  you  saved/'  and  he  handed  one  of  the 
nuggets  to  Thure  and  the  other  to  Bud.  "Keep 
them  carefully.  They  will  be  valuable  mementos 
some  day,  Good-by,"  and  without  another  word  or 
waiting  for  a  reply,  he  whirled  about  and  walked 
swiftly  away. 

Thure  and  Bud  both  ran  after  him,  and  told  him 
that,  although  they  would  prize  the  nuggets  above 
anything  else  he  could  give  them,  they  did  not  wish 
to  take  them  from  him,  the  one  who  first  picked 
them  up,  that  they  belonged  to  him,  that  he  ought 
to  keep  them ;  but  Marshall  would  not  listen  to  them, 
would  not  take  the  nuggets  back,  would  not  even 
stop  to  hear  the  boys'  thanks,  and  strode  on  down 
the  trail  to  where  the  lights  of  Hangtown  were 
beginning  to  twinkle  through  the  gathering  shad 
ows  of  night. 

In  after  years  these  two  little  gold  nuggets  be 
came  the  most  valued  treasures  in  the  possession 
of  the  families  of  our  young  heroes;  and  their 


268  The  Cave  of  Gold 

grandchildren  still  cherish  them  among  their  most 
prized  heirlooms. 

"I  reckon  thar's  somethin'  jest  a  leetle  out  of 
kilter  in  th'  top  of  Marshall's  head/'  Ham  com 
mented,  as  he  watched  the  man  hurrying  down  the 
trail.  "He's  smart  enough  when  it  comes  tew  th' 
use  of  tools;  but  outside  of  them  'bout  everything 
that  he  touches  'pears  tew  go  wrong  with  him,  an' 
ginerally  it  goes  wrong  because  of  th'  fool  way  he 
tackles  it,  though  he  lays  his  bad  luck  all  on  th' 
ingratertude  of  his  feller  mortals." 

Thure  and  Bud  very  carefully  stowed  away  the 
two  nuggets  in  their  pockets,  and  hurried  on  after 
their  companions,  who  were  hurrying  up  the  trail 
leading  to  the  log  house. 

As  they  passed  the  Dickson  log  cabin  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dickson  both  came  out.  Mrs.  Dickson's  eyes 
were  red  from  crying,  and  the  face  of  Dickson  was 
white  and  set,  with  a  look  of  despair  in  his  eyes  not 
good  to  see. 

"Hello!  What  has  happened?"  and  Mr.  Con- 
royal,  who  was  in  the  lead,  stopped  suddenly  and 
stared  in  astonishment  at  the  woe-begone  faces  of 
the  erstwhile  happy  couple. 

"Robbed,"  Dickson  answered  sententiously. 
"Robbed  and  the  mine  has  played  out." 

"Yes,  robbed  of  all  but  about  fifty  dollars'  worth 
of  gold-dust  that  we  took  out  this  afternoon  before 
the  mine  gave  out,"  and  Mrs.  Dickson's  voice 


Robbed  269 

trembled.  ''And  not  a  thing  to  tell  us  who  did! 
the  robbing.  Robbed  of  a  good  forty  thousand  dol- 
lors'  worth  of  gold-dust!  Enough  to  have  taken 
us  both  back  to  New  York  state  and  enabled  us  to 
have  lived  the  rest  of  our  lives  in  comfort/'  and 
Mrs.  Dickson's  voice  broke  into  sobs. 

"Robbed!  Robbed  of  all  your  gold!"  and  our 
friends  gather  around  them  in  great  excitement  and 
indignation. 

"When?" 

"How?" 

"Who  did  it?" 

"Sometime  this  afternoon,"  answered  Mr.  Dick- 
son,  "as  near  as  we  can  figure  it  out  just  a  little 
before  the  storm.  But  all  that  we  really  know  is, 
that,  when  we  went  to  get  the  gold  to-night,  it  was 
gone,  and  without  a  sign  left  to  tell  who  had  taken 
it." 

"And  we  had  it  so  well  hidden,"  mourned  Mrs. 
Dickson,  "under  a  stone  in  the  fireplace.  And  then 
to  think  that  the  mine  should  give  out  at  the  same 
time !"  and  again  she  burst  into  tears. 

"Wai,  it  shore  is  tough  luck,  Leetle  Woman," 
sympathized  Ham.  "But  we've  got  tew  take  th' 
tough  luck  with  th'  tender  an'  make  th'  best  on  it. 
Now,  supposin'  we  have  a  look  around.  Maybe  we 
can  find  some  clue  that  you  missed,  you  being  some 
excited.  It'll  go  mighty  hard  with  th'  robbers,  if 
we  catch  them,"  and  Ham's  face  hardened.  "Now 


270  The  Cave  of  Gold 

jest  show  us  where  you  had  th'  gold  hidden/'  and  he 
and  the  others  followed  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dickson  into 
the  house. 

"We  had  the  gold  hid  right  there,  under  that 
stone,"  and  Dickson  pointed  to  an  upturned  flat 
stone,  about  a  foot  square,  that  lay  near  a  small 
hole,  excavated  in  the  bed  of  the  fireplace,  which 
the  stone  had  evidently  covered  over  and  concealed. 
"When  we  got  in  to-night  there  was  not  a  sus 
picious  sign  anywhere;  and  it  was  not  until  I  lifted 
the  stone  off  the  hole  to  put  the  gold  in  that  we'd 
taken  out  since  noon  that  we  discovered  that  we  had 
been  robbed.  I  reckon  there  is  no  use  of  trying 
to  find  the  robbers.  A  hundred  men  could  hide 
themselves  in  these  mountains  in  a  couple  of  hours 
where  ten  thousand  could  not  find  them/'  and  the 
look  of  despair  settled  back  on  his  face.  "Nobody 
saw  them  come  and  nobody  saw  them  go  and  no 
body  has  the  least  idea  who  did  the  robbing.  So, 
I  guess,  it  is  just  up  to  Mollie  and  me  to  buckle 
down  to  hard  work  and  hard  living  again." 

"Now,  don't  git  discourage.  Maybe  thar's 
better  luck  in  store  for  you  than  you  dream  of," 
and  Ham's  face  lighted  up,  as  if  a  pleasant  idea 
had  suddenly  come  to  him.  "I  want  tew  have  a 
talk  with  th'  rest  of  th'  members  of  th'  Never-Give- 
Up  California  Mining  Company;  an'  then,  may  be 
we'll  have  a  propersition  tew  make  tew  you,  an', 
ag'in,  maybe  we  won't,"  and  Ham  grinned  so  good- 
naturedly  that  even  Mrs.  Dickson  smiled  wanly. 


Robbed  271 

"Come  on,  fellers,  let's  git  tew  th'  office  of  th'  Never- 
Give-Up  California  Mining  Company;  an'  go  intew 
secret  session  tew  consider  important  matters/' 
and  he  hurried  out  of  the  house,  followed  by  all  the 
others,  except  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dickson,  who  stared 
after  them  with  something  like  hope  mingled  with 
the  look  of  wonderment  on  their  faces.  They  knew 
that  Hammer  Jones  never  talked  that  way,  under 
such  serious  circumstances,  without  meaning  some 
thing.  But,  what  could  he  mean? 

Ham  was  the  first  to  open  the  door  of  the  log 
house  and  enter.  The  room  was  dark  and  he  struck 
a  match  and  lit  the  candle,  which  had  been  left  on  the 
table  ready  for  lighting.  The  moment  the  light  of 
the  candle  illuminated  the  surface  of  the  table,  Ham 
uttered  an  exclamation  and  stood  staring  blankly, 
for  a  moment,  at  something  that  glittered  and 
shimmered  in  the  flickering  candle  light  near  the 
center  of  the  table. 

"Wai,  I'll  be  durned!"  and  he  reached  out  one 
of  his  big  hands  and  gingerly  drew  from  the  table 
a  small  keen-bladed  Mexican  dagger,  which,  with  a 
strong  blow,  had  been  driven  through  a  piece  of 
paper  deep  into  the  wood  of  the  table. 

All  the  others  were  now  crowding  excitedly 
around  the  table ;  and  Mr.  Conroyal  quickly  picked 
up  the  piece  of  paper  and  held  it  up  to  the  candle 
light.  On  the  paper  were  scrawled,  with  a  piece  of 
charred  coal  by  a  hand  unused  to  writing,  the  fol 
lowing  words : 


272  The  Cave  of  Gold 

WE  ARE  AGOIN  TEW  GIT  THE  MAP  OR 
WE  ARE  A  COIN  TEW  GIT  THE  GOLD 
AFTER  YOU  GIT  IT  IF  WE  HAVE  TEW  GIT 
YOU  TEW  DEW  IT.  SO  TEW  SAVE  YUR- 
SELFS  TRUBLE  AND  TEW  KEEP  HUL 
SKINS  ON  YUR  BONES  YOUD  BETER 
HAND  OVER  THAT  MAP.  THARS  ENUF 
ON  US  TEW  WHIP  THE  HUL  ON  YOU  OFF 
THE  FACE  OF  THE  EARTH  AND  WE  WIL 
DO  IT  IF  YOU  DONT  GIVE  UP  THE  MAP. 
A  WORD  TEW  THE  WISE  IS  ENUF.  LIFE 
IS  WURTH  MORN  GOLD.  TI  THE  MAP 
TEW  THE  END  OF  THE  STRING  THAT 
YOU  WIL  FIND  TIED  TEW  A  STICK  STUCK 
IN  THE  GROUND  RIGHT  NEAR  YUR 
DOOR  AND  WE  WIL  PUL  THE  MAP  TEW 
US.  IF  YOU  TRI  TEW  FOLLOW  THE  MAP 
WE  WIL  SHOOT  TEW  KIL.  IF  YOU  TRI 
TEW  ROUSE  THE  TOWN  WE  WIL  VA 
MOSE.  WE  ARE  ON  THE  WATCH.  GIVE 
3  JERKS  ON  THE  STRING  WHEN  YUR 
REDY  FOR  US  TEW  PUL  THE  MAP  IN.  IF 
WE  DONT  GIT  THE  MAP  BY  MIDNIGHT 
TEWNIGHT  WE  WIL  KNOW  ITS  TEW  BE 
WAR  TEW  THE  DEATH. 

This  ominous  note  was  unsigned;  but  there  was 
no  need  of  any  signature. 

For  a  moment  after  all  had  finished  reading,  no 
one  spoke,  but  each  stood  staring  from  the  paper  to 
the  dagger  in  Ham's  hand.  Then  Ham  suddenly 
straightened  up  with  a  growl  of  rage. 

"I  thought  it  was  them,  an'  this  proves  I  was 
right.  Th'  durned  skunks!"  and  the  righteous 


Robbed  273 

wrath  in  Ham's  eyes  was  good  to  see.  "Now, 
men,"  and  his  glance  swept  swiftly  the  circle  of 
excited  faces,  "this  makes  th'  offerin'  of  proof  un 
necessary.  We  know  who  robbed  th'  Dicksons! 
An'  we  know,  if  they  hadn't  a-ben  watchin'  us  an' 
a  tryin'  tew  git  hold  of  that  thar  skin  map,  they 
wouldn't  have  found  out  'bout  Dickson's  gold  an* 
did  th'  robbin'.  This  makes  us  sort  of  respons'ble 
for  th'  robbin';  an',  I  reckon,  it's  up  tew  us  tew 
try  an'  make  good  what  th'  Dicksons  lost  on  'count 
of  our  bringin'  them  skunks  down  on  them,  more 
special  since  their  mine's  gin  out,  tew.  Now,  seein' 
that  thar  durned  dam  has  played  out  on  us,  I  reckon 
we're  all  a-calculatin'  on  havin'  a  try  for  th'  Cave  of 
Gold  next ;  an'  I  figger  'twouldn't  be  more'n  square 
for  us  tew  ask  th'  Dicksons  tew  go  long  with  us  on 
th'  hunt  for  th'  dead  miner's  wonderful  cave,  an', 
if  we  find  it,  for  them  tew  share  in  th'  gold  same 
as  us.  How  does  th'  propersition  strike  you,  men  ?" 

"Bully!"  exclaimed  Thure  enthusiastically. 
"Mrs.  Dickson  can  beat  dad  and  the  rest  of  you 
making  flapjacks  all  hollow;  and  she  can  make  bis 
cuits,  real  biscuits  that  a  fellow  can  eat  without 
cracking  them  first  with  a  hammer,  the  same  as 
nuts!" 

"Wai,  I  reckon,  that  argyment  settles  it,"  grinned 
Ham. 

"Supposing  we  consider  the  Never-Give-Up  Cali 
fornia  Mining  Company  in  session  and  put  it  to  a 
vote,"  suggested  Mr.  Conroyal. 


274  The  Cave  of  Gold 

All  agreeing,  Mr.  Conroyal  promptly  put  the 
matter  to  a  vote;  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dickson  were 
duly  elected  members  of  the  Never-Give-Up  Cali 
fornia  Mining  Company,  with  all  the  rights  and 
privileges  appertaining  thereto,  the  vote  being 
unanimous. 

"Now  I'll  appoint  Hammer  Jones  and  Rad  Ran 
dolph  a  committee  to  notify  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dickson 
of  their  election  and  to  escort  them  to  the  offices  of 
the  Never-Give-Up  California  Mining  Company/' 
and  Mr.  Conroyal  smiled. 

Ham  and  Mr.  Randolph  at  once  caught  up  their 
hats  and  hurried  off  to  perform  their  pleasant  mis 
sion  ;  and  in  five  minutes  were  back  with  the  wonder 
ing  man  and  woman  on  their  arms  between  them. 

As  briefly  as  possible  Mr.  Conroyal  now  told  the 
story  of  the  skin  map  and  the  Cave  of  Gold;  and 
how  they  had  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  men 
who  had  robbed  them  were  the  same  men  wrho  had 
murdered  the  miner,  and  who  now  were  striving 
so  desperately  to  secure  the  skin  map ;  and  in  proof 
that  the  robbers  and  the  murderers  were  the  same, 
he  showed  the  note  and  the  dagger,  which  they  had 
found  on  the  table,  in  evidence  that  the  men  had 
been  there  that  afternoon. 

"Now,"  he  concluded,  "Ham  thinks,  and  we  all 
agree  with  him  most  emphatically,  that,  since  we 
are  in  a  way  responsible  for  bringing  the  robbers 
down  upon  you,  it  would  be  no  more  than  fair  for 
us  to  invite  you  to  join  with  us  in  our  search  for 


Robbed  275 

this  Cave  of  Gold,  understanding,  of  course,  that, 
if  the  gold  is  found,  all  are  to  share  alike,  as  all 
will  have  to  share  alike  the  dangers  and  the  diffi 
culties  of  finding  and  keeping  it;  and,  judging  by 
the  note  we  found  on  the  table,  the  dangers  will  be 
real  enough.  Of  course  we  are  not  sure  that  the 
cave  really  exists,  nor,  if  it  does  exist,  that  we  will 
be  able  to  find  it;  but  we  have  faith  enough  in  it 
to  give  it  a  try.  We  plan  to  start  on  the  hunt  just 
as  soon  as  we  can  get  ready,  probably  sometime  to 
morrow.  This  I  think  explains  the  matter  suffi 
ciently  for  you  to  come  to  a  decision.  Are  you 
with  us  ?" 

"Yes!  Yes!"  exclaimed  both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Dickson  eagerly. 

"In  to  the  death,  as  the  note  says/'  added  Mrs. 
Dickson,  smiling.  "And  we  thank  you  from  the 
bottoms  of  our  hearts  for  the  chance/' 

"Do  you  know  this  murdered  miner's  name?" 
Dickson  asked,  his  eyes  sparkling  with  excitement. 
"I  think  I  know  the  man." 

"John  Stackpole,  the  map  says,"  answered  Mr. 
Conroyal. 

"That's  the  man!"  declared  Dickson  excitedly. 
"The  very  man  I  went  prospecting  with  last  fall. 
He  had  some  crazy  idea  in  his  head  then  about  a 
Cave  of  Gold  that  an  old  Indian  whom  he  had  cured 
of  some  disease,  he  had  been  an  army  doctor  once, 
had  told  him  he  had  found  in  a  hidden  gulch  that 
opened  into  a  canyon.  We  hunted  all  up  and  down 


276  The  Cave  of  Gold 

the  canyon,  into  which  the  Indian  said  the  gulch 
opened,  but  we  couldn't  find  no  such  gulch  as  the  In 
dian  described,  and  had  to  give  it  up.  You  remem 
ber  my  telling  you  all  about  it,  don't  you,  Mollie?" 
and  Dickson  turned  to  his  wife. 

"Yes,  yes/'  assented  Mrs.  Dickson  eagerly. 
"You  went  on  the  trip  while  I  was  away  to  Sacra 
mento  City  and  you  told  me  all  about  it,  when  I  got 
back.  Queer  how  things  do  turn  out !" 

"And  so  Stackpole  really  found  the  cave  at  last; 
but  at  the  cost  of  his  life,"  and  Dickson' s  face  sad 
dened.  "Too  bad! — I  mean  his  murder;  for  he 
was  a  good  sort  of  a  fellow,  when  he  was  away 
from  liquor,  but,  let  him  get  a  little  whiskey  down 
him,  and  he  was  as  ugly  as  the  devil.  I  reckon 
that  it  was  drink  that  drove  him  out  of  the  army  in 
disgrace ;  and  I  reckon  it  was  drink  that  caused  his 
murder ;  for  he  was  a  very  cautious  man  and  would 
have  said  nothing  about  his  discovering  the  Cave  of 
Gold,  especially  to  strangers,  if  he  had  been  in  his 
right  senses —  Can  I,  can  I  see  that  map?"  and 
Dickson's  face  suddenly  lighted  up.  "Possibly  I 
know  the  place." 

"Sure,"  and  Mr.  Conroyal  turned  to  Thure. 
"Get  out  the  map,  Thure." 

Thure's  face  reddened  a  little,  but,  turning  his 
back  to  Mrs.  Dickson,  he  quickly,  with  the  aid  of 
his  knife,  ripped  open  the  bosom  of  his  shirt,  and, 
pulling  out  the  map,  handed  it  to  his  father,  who 


Robbed  277 

at  once  spread  it  out  on  the  table  in  front  of  Dick- 
son. 

"Lot's  Canyon!"  Dickson  cried  excitedly,  almost 
the  moment  his  eyes  fell  on  the  map.  "Why,  that's 
the  very  name  we  gave  the  canyon  where  we  tried 
to  find  the  hidden  gulch,  on  account  of  a  white 
pillar  of  rock,  that  Stackpole  said  might  have  been 
Lot's  wife.  And  here  is  the  very  pillar  itself!" 
and  he  pointed  to  the  little  square  on  the  map  marked 
Lot's  Wife.  "And  the  Big  Tree !  And  the  Devil's 
Slide!  And  Goose  Neck  Lake!  Every  one  of 
them  names  that  we  gave  to  places !  I  am  sure  that 
that  is  the  same  canyon  that  Stackpole  searched  for 
the  Cave  of  Gold  when  I  was  with  him,"  and  Dick- 
son  turned  an  excited  face  to  Mr.  Conroyal.  "It's 
about  a  five  days'  tramp  from  here." 

"That's  what  the  dying  miner  said,"  broke  in 
Bud  eagerly. 

"And  do  you  think  you  can  find  that  canyon* 
again?"  asked  Mr.  Conroyal  anxiously.  "The 
trail  on  the  map  is  none  too  clear;  and  I  reckon 
we'd  have  to  do  some  hunting  before  we  found  it, 
with  only  the  map  to  guide  us." 

"I  am  sure  I  can,"  answered  Dickson,  his  eyes 
(still  on  the  map. 

"Well,  then,  we  are  in  great  luck,"  declared  Mr. 
Conroyal.  "I —  Jumping  grasshoppers,  if  we  are 
not  forgetting  all  about  that  polite  note!"  he  ex 
claimed,  as  his  eyes  happened  suddenly  to  fall  on 


278  The  Cave  of  'Gold 

the  dagger  and  the  bit  of  paper,  which,  during  all 
this  time,  had  lain  on  the  table  neglected.  "Now, 
what  shall  we  do  about  that?"  and  his  eyes  flashed 
around  the  circle  of  faces. 

"Let's  first  see  if  the  string  is  really  there,"  pro 
posed  Thure. 

"Good  idee,"  and  Ham  caught  up  the  candle  and 
started  for  the  door,  followed  by  all  the  others, 
Thure  and  Bud  at  his  heels. 

Within  six  feet  of  the  door  they  found  a  sharp 
ened  stick  thrust  into  the  ground,  with  the  end  of  a 
strong  string  tied  to  it.  The  string  ran  along  the 
ground  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see  and  disappeared 
in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  in  the  direction  of  a 
thick  clump  of  trees  forty  rods  away. 

"Wai,  now,  they  shore  are  cunnin'  cusses !"  and 
Ham's  eyes  followed  the  string  admiringly  until  it 
was  lost  in  the  darkness.  "Jest  tie  th'  map  tew  th' 
end  of  this  string,  an'  somebudy  out  thar  some 
where  in  th'  darkness  will  pull  it  tew  him,  without 
nobudy  here  bein'  th'  wiser  for  it.  Not  a  durned 
bit  of  use  tew  follow  up  th'  string  neither.  They 
could  shoot  an'  cut  an'  run  long  afore  we  could  see 
them  in  th'  darkness.  They  shore  are  good  at 
plannin',  th'  durned  skunks!  Say,  jest  supposin' 
we  send  'em  a  leetle  message,  jest  tew  see  how  th' 
string  works,"  and  Ham  turned  to  the  others,  a 
broad  grin  on  his  face. 

This  impressed  all  as  a  good  idea,  and  they  hur 
ried  back  into  the  house  to  prepare  the  message. 


Robbed  279 

In  a  few  minutes  the  message,  written  on  the  back 
of  the  piece  of  paper  which  they  had  found  on  the 
table,  was  ready.  It  was  brief,  but  to  the  point, 
and  read : 

If  you  want  the  map,  come  and  get  it.  There 
are  nine  men  and  one  woman,  worth  any  two  men, 
who  will  be  glad  to  welcome  you. 

The  paper,  with  the  message  on  it,  was  now  rolled 
up  tightly,  and  all  hurried  out  to  the  string. 

Mr.  Conroyal  took  the  paper,  and,  kneeling  down 
by  the  side  of  the  stick,  untied  the  string,  tied  the 
little  packet  of  paper  strongly  to  it,  and  then  gave 
the  string  three  sharp,  strong  jerks. 

The  response  was  prompt.  Hardly  had  he  given 
the  last  jerk,  when  the  string  was  pulled  out  of  his 
hand,  and  the  little  packet  of  paper  started  bob 
bing  along  over  the  ground  toward  the  distant 
clump  of  trees,  with  all  watching  its  progress  with 
fascinated  eyes,  until  it  disappeared  in  the  darkness. 

For,  perhaps,  ten  minutes  they  stood  there,  no 
one  speaking  a  word,  and  all  eyes  turned  in  the 
direction  whither  the  little  packet  of  paper  had  dis 
appeared.  Then  they  saw  a  faint  glow  in  the  little 
clump  of  trees,  as  if  someone  had  struck  a  match. 

"I  reckon  they're  readin'  it,"  grinned  Ham. 
"Wonder  how  they  like  it?" 

Ham  did  not  have  to  wonder  long;  for,  almost 
as  he  uttered  the  last  word,  a  spurt  of  flame  leaped 
out  from  the  dark  shadows  of  the  distant  clump  of 


280  The  Cave  of  Gold 

trees,  and  a  rifle  bullet  whistled  so  close  by  his  face 
that  it  burnt  the  end  of  his  nose,  and  buried  itself 
in  the  logs  of  the  house. 

"Gosh  A'mighty,  he's  got  my  nose!"  and  Ham 
made  a  break  for  the  door  of  the  house,  one  big 
hand  holding  on  to  the  end  of  his  nose. 

In  two  seconds  all  were  in  the  house  and  the  door 
shut. 

"How  much  on  it  did  he  git?  Not  enough  tew 
spoil  my  beauty,  I  hopes,"  and  Ham  held  a  lighted 
candle  in  front  of  his  face  before  a  small  mirror 
hanging  on  the  wall.  "Wai,  I'll  be  durned !  Jest 
burnt  th'  tip  end  on  it !"  and  he  set  the  candle  down 
on  the  table  in  disgust. 

The  darkness  of  the  night  and  the  wilderness  of 
the  surrounding  mountains  made  absolutely  useless 
any  attempt  to  follow  up  their  enemies;  and,  after 
an  hour  spent  in  discussing  plans,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Dickson  returned  to  their  house,  and  our  friends 
hurried  into  their  bunks,  to  get  the  rest  needed  to 
fit  them  for  a  busy  morrow. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

PEDRO 

'"THE  next  morning  all  our  friends  were  up  an 
*  hour  before  sunrise;  for  the  Never-Give-Up 
California  Mining  Company  had  much  to  do  that 
morning,  if  they  started  on  the  hunt  for  the  Cave 
of  Gold  that  day,  as  they  hoped  to  do.  The  horses 
had  to  be  brought  from  the  little  valley  five  miles 
away,  where  they  had  been  turned  out  to  pasture, 
needed  supplies  of  food  and  clothing  and  tools  had 
to  be  procured  at  the  stores  of  Hangtown,  and 
everything  had  to  be  made  ready  for  the  rough 
journey  through  the  wilderness  of  mountains  and 
forests  to  the  northeast.  But  nine  men  and  one 
woman  can  accomplish  much  in  a  few  hours;  and 
by  noon  everything  was  in  readiness  for  the  start, 
and  the  horses  stood  saddled  and  bridled  and  packed, 
ready  for  the  journey,  before  the  door  of  the  log 
house,  while  our  friends  gathered  around  the  rough 
table  inside  for  their  last  meal  in  the  house  that  had 
sheltered  them  for  so  long. 

"Seems  almost  like  leaving  home,"  declared  Mr. 
Conroyal,  as  his  eyes  glanced  slowly  around  the 
familiar  room. 

"It  shore  does,"  agreed  Ham.  "We've  had  some 
281 


282  The  Cave  of  Gold 

mighty  good  times  in  the  old  house ;  an'  I  hopes  th' 
fellers  who  move  in  when  we're  out,  will  be  sort  of 
gentle  tew  things.  Somehow  it  seems  a  leetle  cruel 
tew  desert  them  tew  friendly  old  rockers  thar,  that 
have  so  often  given  ease  an'  comfort  tew  our  tired 
bodies,  not  knowin'  what  sort  of  critters  will  next 
sot  down  in  'em,"  and  his  eyes  rested  on  the  two 
barrel-rockers.  "Tney  seem  tew  be  a  lookin'  at 
me  right  now,  sort  of  forlorn  an'  reproachful-like," 
and  a  smile  lighted  his  face  at  the  whimsical 
thought.  "Wai,  that  kind  of  philosophizin'  won't 
dig  no  gold.  Now,  dew  you  reckon  them  skunks 
are  on  th'  watch  an'  will  try  tew  foller  us?"  and 
the  smile  left  his  face. 

"Yes,"  answered  Mr.  Conroyal.  "They  have 
probably  been  watching  us  all  the  morning.  When 
Frank  and  I  started  out  as  soon  as  it  was  light 
enough  to  see  to  try  and  trace  the  string  and  maybe 
get  onto  the  trail  of  the  scoundrels,  we  both  feel 
certain  that  we  were  watched  and  that  somebody 
was  warned  of  our  coming,  because,  before  we'd 
gone  a  dozen  rods,  we  heard  a  coyotelike  bark, 
coming  from  way  up  the  mountain-side  and  end 
ing  in  a  howl  that  we  are  sure  never  came  from  a 
coyote's  throat;  and,  when  we  got  to  the  clump  of 
trees,  we  found  signs  of  someone  having  been  there 
only  a  few  minutes  before,  and  followed  the  trail  to 
a  rocky  gulch  a  dozen  rods  beyond  the  trees,  where 
we  lost  the  trail  on  the  hard  rocks.  Yes,  they  sure 
will  try  to  follow  us;  for  now,  I  fancy,  their  plan 


Pedro  283 

is,  since  they  can't  get  hold  of  the  map,  to  let  us 
find  the  gold  and  then  to  try  and  get  it  away  from 
us.  At  least  that  is  the  way  Frank  and  I  figure 
it  out ;  and  we've  got  to  give  them  the  slip  somehow 
somewhere  between  here  and  Lot's  Canyon,  or  fight 
for  the  gold.  Quinley  and  Ugger  have  probably 
gathered  together  a  band  of  cut-throats,  and  figure 
on  being  able  to  get  the  gold  away  from  us  after  we 
have  found  it." 

"And  we  calculate,"  continued  Frank  Holt,  "that 
the  best  way  to  try  and  give  them  the  slip  will  be 
to  go  into  camp  early  to-night;  and  then  about 
midnight  to  suddenly  and  quietly  break  camp  and 
steal  away  under  cover  of  the  darkness,  hoping  to 
get  away  without  their  knowing  it." 

"I  reckon  they're  tew  cute  tew  be  fooled  that 
easy,"  and  Ham  shook  his  head. 

"And  so  do  we,"  grinned  back  Holt.  "But  we 
calculate  that  it  will  make  them  think  that  we  think 
that  we  have  fooled  them,  and  so  they  won't  con 
sider  it  necessary  to  keep  so  close  watch  on  us,  and 
we  can  try  to  make  our  real  getaway  the  next  night 
or  the  night  after." 

"That  sounds  more  like  it,"  and  Ham  grinned  his 
approval.  "Wai,  since  we  all  'pear  tew  be  through 
eatin',  let's  git  a-goin',"  and  he  jumped  up  from  the 
table  and  hurried  out  doors,  nearly  stumbling  over  a 
thin,  sallow-faced,  middle-aged  Mexican,  who  stood 
near  the  door  apparently  waiting  for  someone  to 
come  out. 


284  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"Hello,  Pedro !  What  you  doin'  here  ?"  and  Ham 
scowled  down  on  the  little  Mexican,  whom  he  had 
often  seen  working  about  Coleman' s  store.  "Cole- 
man  send  you  for  something?" 

"No,  senor,"  answered  the  Mexican.  "Coleman 
kick  me  this  morning;  and  now  I  no  longer  work 
for  Coleman.  I  now  would  cook  and  keep  camp 
for  sefiors,"  and  he  bowed,  with  a  flourish  of  both 
his  thin  arms.  "Get  wood,  make  fire,  cook,  carry 
water,  clean  dish,  all  I  do  for  sefiors.  I  very  good 
cook.  Coleman  say  I  make  best  flapjacks  in  Hang- 
town.  All  I  do  for  sefiors  for  one  ounce  gold-dust 
a  week.  Si,  sefiors?"  and  his  bright  black  eyes 
flashed  questioningly  around  the  circle  of  faces  that, 
by  this  time,  had  gathered  around  him. 

"But,  see,  our  hosses  are  packed.  We're  'bout 
tew  break  camp,"  and  Ham  pointed  to  the  horses. 

"Si,  sefior,"  answered  Pedro,  smiling.  "I  know 
how  pack  horse,  so  pack  no  slip  under  belly.  I  go 
where  sefiors  go.  I  do  good  work,  kind,  faithful, 
honest,"  and  again  he  smiled,  until  his  teeth  showed 
like  two  rows  of  yellow  ivory  in  his  mouth. 

"Now,"  and  Ham  turned  questioningly  to  the 
others.  "I  wonder  if  'twouldn't  be  a  good  thing 
tew  take  Pedro  'long?  He  could  help  a  lot  'bout 
hoss-packin'  an'  cookin'  an'  things,  an'  could  dew 
all  th'  dirty  heavy  work  for  th'  Leetle  Woman." 

"Reckon  you're  right,  Ham,"  declared  Mr.  Con- 
royal.  "Shall  we  take  the  Mexican  on  his  own 
terms  ?"  and  he  glanced  inquiringly  around. 


Pedro  285 

"Yes,  and  a  good  bargain  I  call  it,"  assented  Mr. 
Randolph.  "Pedro  couldn't  have  staid  as  long  as 
he  did  with  Coleman,  if  he  hadn't  been  a  pretty 
decent  sort  of  a  Mexican;  and  he  can  help  a  lot 
about  camp." 

And  thus  it  came  about  that  Pedro,  the  Mexican, 
entered  the  service  of  our  friends,  without  a  thought 
of  suspicion  that  he  might  be  other  than  what  he 
seemed  coming  into  the  head  of  one  of  them.  If 
they  had  not  seen  him  so  often  working  about  Cole- 
man's  store  and  felt  sure  that  he  was  only  an  igno 
rant  Mexican  menial,  they  probably  would  have 
been  a  little  more  cautious  about  taking  him  with 
them  on  such  a  venture  as  they  were  about  to  under 
take. 

Mrs.  Dickson  was  given  one  of  the  horses  to  ride, 
although  she  protested  that  she  was  just  as  able  to 
walk  as  anybody;  but  the  other  five  horses  were  all 
loaded  with  the  packs  containing  the  supplies  for 
the  journey  and  the  mining  tools,  the  men,  of 
course,  all  walking.  The  five  pack-horses  were 
placed  in  charge  of  Pedro  and  brought  up  the  rear 
of  the  little  column  of  men  that  now  marched  slowly 
over  the  hill  that  flanked  Hangtown  and  off  toward 
the  unknown  wilderness  of  mountains  and  forests 
to  the  northeast,  Ham  and  Dickson  and  Mr.  Con- 
royal  in  the  lead. 

For  the  first  two  or  three  days'  march,  or  until 
they  had  passed  beyond  the  region  where  the  miners 
were  at  work,  their  way  would  be  plain.  They  had 


286  The  Cave  of  Gold 

only  to  follow  the  trail  of  the  miners  to  Humbug 
Canyon,  the  last  known  place  marked  down  on  the 
skin  map.  But  from  Humbug  Canyon  on  there 
would  be  no  trail  to  follow  and  they  would  be 
obliged  to  trust  to  the  guidance  of  Mr.  Dickson  and 
the  skin  map  to  bring  them  into  Lot's  Canyon. 
After  that  they  would  have  to  depend  entirely  on  the 
map  and  their  own  skill  to  discover  the  hidden  open 
ing  into  Crooked  Arm  Gulch. 

Naturally  Thure  and  Bud  were  in  high  spirits, 
now  that  they  were  actually  on  their  way  to  the 
marvelous  Cave  of  Gold;  and,  boylike,  they  allowed 
no  thoughts  of  the  threatening  perils  from  Ugger 
and  Quinley  and  their  band  of  cut-throats  to  trouble 
their  minds  or  to  distract  their  attention  from  the 
wonderful  scenes  constantly  unfolding  before  them, 
as  they  advanced  along  the  trail  leading  to  Humbug 
Canyon,  where  something  interesting  or  beautiful 
or  both  met  their  eyes  each  moment,  no  matter  in 
what  direction  they  looked.  Now  it  was  some  won 
derful  formation  of  nature — great  masses  of  rocks 
towering  thousands  of  feet  above  their  heads,  pic 
turesque  little  mountain-surrounded  valleys,  deep 
canyons  and  gulches  and  ravines  and  chasms,  beau 
tiful  cascades  of  water  plunging  over  precipitous 
cliffs  to  fall  in  a  stream  of  sparkling  jewels  on  the 
rocks  at  their  base,  or  great  forests  of  columnlike 
trees,  or  winding,  murmuring,  plunging,  seething, 
turbulent  little  streams  of  water  rushing  furiously 
toward  some  far-off  valley,  and  like  marvels  and 


Pedro  287 

beauties  of  nature.  Again,  in  entering  some  little 
valley  or  ravine,  they  would  come  suddenly  upon  a 
picturesque  little  company  of  miners  hard  at  work 
with  picks  and  shovels  and  pans  and  cradles,  search 
ing  for  the  elusive  yellow  grains  of  gold.  Indeed, 
during  that  first  afternoon,  they  found  the  miners 
everywhere,  in  the  valleys,  in  the  gulches  and  the 
ravines,  along  the  streams,  wherever  there  seemed 
the  least  prospect  of  finding  gold,  there  these  wild 
knights  of  the  pick  and  the  shovel  were  sure  to  be 
found;  and,  as  they  passed,  the  latest  mining  news 
would  be  shouted  back  and  forth,  enlivened  with 
rude  sallies  of  wit  and  merry  well-wishes. 

Sometimes  they  would  pause  for  a  few  minutes  to 
talk  with  the  miners  and  to  watch  them  at  their 
work;  and,  on  one  of  these  occasions,  Thure  and 
Bud  saw,  for  the  first  time,  a  couple  of  miners  at 
work  with  a  cradle,  as  this  queer  machine  used  to 
separate  the  gold  from  the  dirt  is  called. 

"I  don't  wonder  it  is  called  a  cradle/'  Thure  ex 
claimed,  the  moment  he  caught  sight  of  the  odd- 
looking  contrivance.  "Why,  if  it  wasn't  for  that 
hopper  on  the  upper  end  and  the  man  shoveling  dirt 
and  pouring  water  into  it,  one  would  surely  think 
that  fellow  was  rocking  his  baby  to  sleep  in  its 
cradle.  Can't  we  wait  here  a  little  while  and  watch 
them  work  it?"  and  Thure  turned  to  his  father. 
"The  horses  need  a  rest  anyway." 

"Going  to  clean  up  soon?"  Mr.  Conroyal  called  to 
the  men. 


288  The  Cave  of  Gold 

_» 

"In  about  ten  minutes,"  answered  the  shoveler. 
"And,  I  reckon,  we  can  show  some  gold  when  we 
do.  Won't  you  wait  and  see  how  it  pans  out?"  he 
invited  cordially. 

"Oh,  do,  please  1"  cried  both  the  boys. 

"All  right,"  assented  Mr.  Conroyal.  "A  rest 
won't  hurt  the  horses,  and  I  am  sure  the  clean  up 
will  interest  you  boys." 

"Bully !  Come  on.  Let's  get  closer,"  and  Thure 
started  on  the  run  for  the  spot  where  the  two  men 
were  working. 

The  men  had  placed  the  cradle  within  a  few  feet 
of  where  they  were  digging  up  the  pay-dirt,  and 
near  the  cradle  they  had  dug  a  small  reservoir, 
which  was  kept  constantly  filled  with  water  by 
means  of  a  small  trench  dug  from  the  little  moun 
tain  stream  a  dozen  rods  away,  so  that  they  had 
both  the  water  and  the  dirt  handy,  two  very  nec 
essary  things  to  make  cradling  successful,  unless 
the  pay-dirt  is  very  rich.  The  machine  itself,  as 
Thure  said,  looked  very  much  like  a  rudely  made, 
baby's  cradle.  The  body  was  about  the  same  size 
and  shape  as  the  ordinary  homemade  box  cradle 
seen  in  the  homes  of  thousands  in  those  days  and 
underneath  it  were  two  similar  rockers,  but  here 
the  resemblance  ended.  One  end  of  the  cradle-box 
was  a  little  higher  than  the  other  end,  which  was 
left  open,  so  that  the  water  loaded  with  the  waste 
dirt  could  run  out;  and  on  the  upper  end  stood  a 
hopper,  or  riddle-box,  as  it  was  frequently  called, 


Pedro  289 

*  -.«*  . 

about  twenty  inches  square,  with  sides  four  inches 
high  and  a  bottom  made  of  sheet-iron,  pierced  with 
holes  half  an  inch  in  diameter.  Directly  under  the 
hopper,  which  was  not  nailed  to  the  cradle-box,  was 
an  apron  of  wood,  fastened  to  the  sides  of  the  cradle- 
box  and  sloping  down  from  the  lower  end  of  the  hop 
per  to  the  upper  end  of  the  cradle-box.  Two  strips 
of  wood,  about  an  inch  square,  called  riffle-bars,  were 
nailed  across  the  bottom  of  the  cradle-box,  one  at 
the  middle  and  the  other  near  the  lower  end.  An 
upright  piece  of  wood,  nailed  to  one  side  of  the 
cradle-box,  furnished  a  convenient  handle  for  the 
man  who  did  the  rocking.  Such,  briefly  described, 
was  the  make  of  the  curious  machine  that  had  so 
aroused  the  interest  of  Thure  and  Bud. 

"Ever  see  a  cradle  work  before?"  asked  the  man 
who  was  shoveling  the  dirt  and  pouring  the  water 
into  the  hopper,  as  Thure  and  Bud  came  running 
up,  their  eyes  shining  with  interest. 

"No/'  answered  Thure.  "It  sure  is  a  funny 
looking  machine/' 

"It  sure  is/'  agreed  the  man.  "But  a  fellow  can 
clean  two  or  three  times  as  much  dirt  with  it  as  he 
can  with  a  pan  and  do  it  better.  This  is  the  phi 
losophy  of  it,"  and  he  shoveled  the  pay-dirt  into  the 
hopper  until  it  was  a  little  over  half  filled,  and  then, 
picking  up  a  long-handled  dipper,  began  dipping 
water  out  of  the  reservoir  and  pouring  it  on  the  dirt 
in  the  hopper,  while  the  other  man  constantly  kept 
the  cradle  rocking  back  and  forth.  "You  see,"  con- 


290  The  Cave  of  Gold 

tinued  the  man,  "the  motion  and  the  water  loosens 
and  softens  the  dirt  until  all  of  it,  except  the  larger 
stones,  falls  through  the  holes  in  the  bottom  of  the 
hopper  and  runs  down  the  apron  to  the  upper  end 
of  the  cradle  and  then  down  the  bottom  of  the  cradle 
and  over  the  riffle-bars  and  out  the  lower  end,  leav 
ing  the  gold  and  the  heavier  particles  of  sand  and 
gravel  behind  the  riffle-bars.  But  a  fellow  has  to 
keep  the  cradle  in  constant  motion,  or  the  sand  will 
pack  and  harden  behind  the  riffle-bars  and  allow  the 
gold  to  slide  over  it,  instead  of  sinking  down  through 
it,  as  gold  always  will  when  sand  or  gravel  is  loose 
or  in  motion,"  as  he  spoke,  he  thrust  his  hand  into 
the  hopper  and  picked  out  a  couple  of  stones  too 
large  to  pass  through  the  holes  in  the  bottom  of  the 
hopper,  and,  after  closely  examining  them  to  see 
that  there  was  no  gold  clinging  to  their  sides,  threw 
them  away. 

"But,  how  do  you  get  the  gold  out  of  the  cradle?" 
queried  Bud.  "It  seems  to  be  mixed  all  up  with  a 
lot  of  heavy  sand  and  gravel  behind  the  riffle-bars." 

"We  will  show  you,  just  as  soon  as  we  wash  out 
this  hopper  full  of  dirt,"  replied  the  man.  "Ay, 
Hank?"  and  he  turned  to  his  companion,  the  rocker. 

"I  reckon  it  is  about  time  to  make  a  clean  up, 
Dave,"  assented  Hank,  shifting  the  other  hand  to 
the  cradle  handle.  "Anyhow  both  my  arms  are 
about  plumb  tired  out.*' 

After  about  ten  minutes  of  this  vigorous  rocking 
all  the  dirt  had  been  dissolved  and  nothing  remained 


Pedro  291 

in  the  hopper  except  a  number  of  stones,  too  large 
to  fall  through  the  holes  in  its  bottom,  which  had 
been  washed  clean  by  the  water  and  the  shaking 
they  had  received. 

'There,  I  calculate  that  will  do  the  business/'  and 
the  man  addressed  as  Dave,  dropped  the  dipper, 
with  which  he  had  been  pouring  the  water  into  the 
hopper,  while  Hank  stopped  rocking  the  cradle  and, 
rising  to  his  feet,  stretched  up  both  arms  over  his 
head  with  a  sigh  of  relief. 

"Say,  but  this  gold-digging  is  darned  hard  work/' 
and  he  grinned  down  at  the  two  boys. 

"A  darned  sight  harder  than  measuring  cloth  be 
hind  a  counter/'  laughed  Dave,  as  he  lifted  the  hop 
per  off  the  cradle  and  with  a  quick  jerk  threw  the 
stones  out  of  it  and  laid  it  down  on  the  ground. 
"But  a  fellow  gets  something  for  his  hard  work — 
that  is,  he  does  if  he  is  lucky/'  he  added,  as  he  picked 
up  a  large  iron  spoon  from  the  ground  near  the 
cradle.  "Now  we'll  see  how  the  gold  pans  out," 
and  bending  over  the  cradle  he  began  digging  out 
the  gravel  and  sand  behind  the  riffle-bars  with  the 
spoon  and  throwing  it  into  a  gold-pan,  which  Hank 
held. 

By  this  time  all  the  company,  except  Pedro,  who 
had  been  left  in  charge  of  the  pack-horses,  had 
gathered  around  the  two  men  and  were  watching 
the  cleaning  up  process  with  the  greatest  in 
terest. 

"  'Bout  how  much  dew  you  expect  she'll  pan  out  ?" 


292  The  Cave  of  Gold 

queried  Ham,  as  Dave  scraped  out  the  last  spoon 
ful  of  sand  and  gravel  and  threw  it  into  the  pan. 

"Somewhere  between  three  and  four  ounces,"  an 
swered  Dave.  "At  least  that  is  about  what  we 
usually  clean  out  How  does  she  feel,  Hank?"  and 
he  turned  to  his  partner,  who  was  running  his  fin 
gers  speculatively  through  the  wet  sand  in  the  pan. 

"I'll  bet  you  an  ounce  of  dust  that  there  is  a  good 
five  ounces  of  gold  in  this  pan  right  now,"  declared 
the  man,  his  eyes  shining. 

Before  replying  Dave  took  the  pan  and  ran  his 
fingers  a  few  times  through  the  sand. 

"I'll  go  you.  Wash  her  out,"  and  he  handed  the 
pan  back  to  Hank. 

Hank  now  took  the  pan  to  the  little  stream  of 
water,  where  the  swift  current  would  help  in  sepa 
rating  the  gold  from  the  sand ;  and  in  a  few  minutes 
his  skilful  hands  had  succeeded  in  washing  out  of 
the  pan  all  the  sand  and  gravel,  except  a  thin  layer 
of  black  sand,  that  was  too  heavy  to  wash  out  with 
out  danger  of  washing  out  the  gold  with  it,  which 
now  could  be  seen  sparkling  here  and  there  in  the 
sand. 

"Want  to  back  out  ?"  and  Hank  held  the  pan  up 
in  triumph  in  front  of  Dave's  face. 

"Sure  not.  There  is  not  over  four  ounces  there," 
answered  Dave,  after  a  moment's  close  examination 
of  the  sand.  "Get  out  your  magnet." 

Hank  now  thrust  one  of  his  hands  into  his  pocket 
and  pulled  out  a  large  horseshoe  magnet,  the  ends 


Pedro  293 

of  which  he  at  once  began  passing  over  the  black 
sand  in  the  bottom  of  the  pan;  and,  since  the  black 
sand  was  nearly  all  iron,  the  magnet  force  caused 
it  to  cling  to  the  horseshoe  and  in  this  ingenious 
manner  the  remaining  sand  was  quickly  drawn  from 
the  pan,  leaving  a  thin,  a  very  thin  layer  of  gold- 
dust  lying  on  its  bottom. 

Dave  now  produced  a  small  balance  from  one  of 
his  pockets  and  the  gold-dust  was  quickly  gathered 
up  and  weighed. 

"I  win !  Five  ounces  and  a  half  I"  shouted  Hank 
triumphantly,  at  the  same  time  giving  Dave  a  re 
sounding  whack  on  his  back  with  the  flat  of  his 
hand.  "That's  the  best  clean  up  we've  had  since 
we  started  digging  here.  I  reckon  you  boys 
brought  us  good  luck/'  and  he  grinned  joyously  into 
the  faces  of  Thure  and  Bud. 

"Five  an'  a  half  ounces !  That's  a  mighty  good 
clean  up,"  declared  Ham,  critically  eyeing  the  little 
pile  of  gold-dust  on  the  scale.  "How  often  dew 
you  clean  up  a  day  ?" 

"Usually  about  four  times,"  answered  one  of  the 
men.  "But  sometimes,  when  the  shoveling  is  good, 
we  get  in  another  clean  up  or  two  by  working  a  little 
late." 

"Wai,  tew  hundred  an'  fifty  or  three  hundred 
dollars'  worth  of  gold  a  day  is  shore  dewin'  pretty 
well  for  tew  men;  an'  I  hopes  y'ur  good  luck  con 
tinues." 

"No  more  measuring  cloth  behind  a  counter  for 


294  The  Cave  of  Gold 

me,  if  it  does,"  laughed  Dave.  "You  see  Hank  and 
I  were  both  clerks  in  a  drygoods  store  back  East; 
but  we  will  both  be  proprietors  when  we  get  back, 
if  our  good  luck  holds  out  only  a  few  months 
longer,5'  and  the  look  on  the  faces  of  the  two  men 
told  how  much  they  were  counting  on  that  proprie 
torship. 

"I  am  sure  your  good  luck  will  continue/'  smiled 
Mr.  Conroyal  encouragingly.  "But  now  we  must 
be  on  our  way,"  and  he  led  the  way  back  to  where 
Pedro  was  waiting  with  the  horses. 

That  night  our  friends  made  their  camp  in  a  little 
grove  of  trees  that  grew  on  the  bank  of  a  streamlet 
flowing  through  a  small  mountain  valley,  where 
there  was  an  abundance  of  water,  wood,  and 
grass. 

Pedro  proved  himself  so  great  a  success  at  un 
packing  the  horses  and  attending  to  the  rougher 
camp  duties  that  all  felt  like  congratulating  them 
selves  on  having  secured  his  service.  He  was  will 
ing  and  cleanly,  two  rather  rare  qualities  in  the 
Mexican  camp  menial,  who  was  usually  sullen  in 
disposition  and  dirty  in  person  and  habits.  He  also 
proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  that  his  flapjacks  de 
served  all  the  praises  that  Coleman  had  given  them. 

"He's  a  jewel,"  declared  Mrs.  Dickson  enthusi 
astically.  "And,  if  it  wasn't  for  something  snaky 
and  creepy-crawly  looking  in  his  eyes,  I  had  rather 
have  his  help  than  that  of  most  women's.  But  I 
guess  that  queer  look  and  the  way  he  has  of  watch- 


Pedro  295 

ing  all  of  us  comes  from  his  being  Mexican.  Now," 
and  she  lowered  her  voice,  "are  you  still  planning  to 
break  camp  sometime  during  the  night  and  try  to 
fool  Ugger  and  his  men,  if  they  are  trying  to  keep 
watch  of  us?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Mr.  Conroyal.  "The  moon  will  be 
up  about  midnight;  and,  I  reckon,  that  will  be  about 
the  best  time  for  us  to  try  to  make  our  getaway.  So 
the  sooner  we  all  get  to  sleep  the  more  rest  we  will 
get.  Now,  how  about  the  guard?"  and  he  turned 
inquiringly  to  the  circle  of  men  who  had  gathered 
around  the  camp-fire  for  a  quiet  little  talk,  after  the 
supper  had  been  eaten  and  all  the  camp  duties  had 
been  attended  to.  "Do  you  think  it  necessary  for 
us  to  post  guards  over  the  camp  nights?" 

"Sart'in,"  declared  Ham.  "Them  skunks  would 
be  shore  tew  be  up  tew  some  devilment,  like  stealin' 
our  hosses  or  something  if  we  didn't;  an'  I  don't  cal 
culate  on  lettin'  'em  git  th'  start  on  us,  if  watchin' 
will  prevent  it.  I'm  for  havin'  a  guard  every  night, 
until  we  git  safe  back  tew  civilerzation  ag'in. 
Them's  uncommon  cunnin'  scoundrels  what's  on  our 
trail,  an'  we  don't  want  tew  take  no  chances  with 
them." 

"That's  exactly  the  way  I  feel  about  it,"  agreed 
Mr.  Conroyal.  "  'Twould  be  foolish  to  run  any 
needless  chances.  Rex,  you  will  stand  guard  for 
the  first  two  hours.  Then  you  can  awaken  Dill, 
who  will  keep  guard  until  it  is  time  to  arouse  the 
camp,  which  will  be  just  as  soon  as  the  moon  rises, 


296  The  Cave  of  Gold 

somewhere  around  midnight.  Now  everybody  but 
Rex  get  into  their  blankets." 

A  small  tent  had  been  secured  for  the  use  of  Mrs. 
Dickson,  into  which  she  now  retired;  but  the  men 
found  "soft"  spots  of  ground  near  the  camp-fire, 
spread  out  their  blankets  on  them,  and,  rolling  them 
selves  up  in  the  blankets,  lay  down  to  as  sound  a 
sleep  as  ever  blessed  a  man  in  the  most  comfortable 
of  beds. 

A  little  after  midnight,  just  as  the  white  disk  of 
the  moon  rose  above  the  tops  of  the  mountains  to 
the  east,  Dill  quietly  awoke  his  father ;  and  then  the 
two  quietly,  and  cautioning  all  to  make  as  little  noise 
as  possible,  awoke  the  others. 

Pedro,  who  had  lain  down  near  the  horses,  was  at 
first  inclined  to  be  surly,  when  aroused  from  a  sound 
sleep  and  told  to  pack  the  horses  as  quickly  and  as 
quietly  as  possible;  but  in  a  few  minutes  all  his  surli 
ness  had  vanished  and  he  was  doing  the  work  with 
a  swift  and  skilful  dexterity  that  showed  long  prac 
tice. 

In  half  an  hour  the  horses  were  packed  and  every 
thing  was  ready  to  start. 

"Now/'  and  Mr.  Conroyal  lowered  his  voice  al 
most  to  a  whisper,  "there  must  be  no  talking  and 
everyone  must  move  quietly,  so  as  to  make  as  little 
noise  as  possible,  until  we  have  put  a  couple  of  miles 
between  us  and  the  camp.  I'll  go  on  ahead  and  the 
others  can  follow  in  single  file.  Rex,  you  and  Dill 


Pedro  297 

and  Thure  and  Bud  help  Pedro  with  the  horses. 
You  had  better  lead  them  for  awhile.  We  will  leave 
the  camp-fire  burning.  Everybody  ready?" 

"Yes" — "Yes,"  came  in  whispers. 

"All  right.  Come  on,"  and  Mr.  Conroyal,  walk 
ing  carefully  so  as  to  make  as  little  noise  as  possible, 
moved  off  down  the  trail  that  showed  faintly  in  the 
moonlight. 

In  the  excitement  of  the  moment  no  one  saw 
Pedro  bend  quickly  down  to  the  ground,  just  before 
Starting,  and  swiftly  slip  a  piece  of  paper  on  which 
was  written  the  two  words,  "Humbug  Canyon," 
under  a  stone  that  lay  near  the  camp-fire,  and  then, 
with  a  cunning  gleam  in  his  snaky  black  eyes 
straighten  up  and  give  all  his  attention  to  the  horse 
he  was  to  lead. 

All  now  fell  into  line  and  followed  close  behind 
Mr.  Conroyal,  Thure  and  Bud  and  Rex  and  Dill  and 
Pedro  each  leading  one  of  the  pack-horses. 

For  a  mile  the  trail  was  over  the  soft  grass-cov 
ered  sod  of  the  valley,  which  muffled  the  sounds 
made  by  their  moving  feet,  so  that  they  might  have 
passed  within  half  a  dozen  rods  of  a  camp  without 
a  man  in  it  dreaming  that  a  little  company  of  men 
and  horses  were  passing,  unless  he  chanced  to  see 
them.  Then  the  trail  again  entered  the  defiles  of 
the  mountains,  where  the  going  was  rough  and  dif 
ficult  and  sometimes  dangerous,  on  account  of  their 
not  being  able  to  see  clearly  in  the  dim  light  of  the 


298  The  Cave  of  Gold 

moon ;  but  Mr.  Conroyal  kept  pressing  steadily  and 
silently  onward,  and  as  steadily  and  as  silently  all 
the  others  followed. 

There  was  no  talking,  even  after  they  had  passed 
the  danger  zone.  No  one  seemed  to  care  to  talk. 
There  was  something  in  the  mystery  of  the  night 
and  the  wilderness,  in  the  white  light  of  the  moon 
falling  on  tree  and  rock  and  mountain  and  valley, 
in  the  silence  of  the  vast  surrounding  forests  and 
mighty  piles  of  towering  rocks  that  stilled  the 
tongue. 

For  a  couple  of  hours  they  journeyed  steadily 
and  silently  on  through  the  moonlit  wilderness ;  and 
then  Mr.  Conroyal  came  to  a  halt  in  a  narrow  little 
valley. 

"I  reckon  we've  thrown  the  scoundrels  off  the  trail 
by  now,  if  we  are  going  to  to-night/'  he  said ;  "and 
so  we  might  as  well  go  into  camp  again  and  rest  up 
until  sunrise;  and  as  this  looks  like  a  good  place  we 
will  go  into  camp  right  there  under  those  trees," 
and  he  pointed  toward  a  little  grove  of  evergreen 
oaks  that  grew  a  few  rods  away. 

All  were  tired  and  all  were  sleepy;  and,  conse 
quently,  all  welcomed  the  decision  to  go  into  camp,, 
and  acted  on  it  so  promptly  that,  in  fifteen  minutes, 
all,  except  the  guard,  were  rolled  up  in  their  blankets 
and  soon  were  sound  asleep. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  TENT 

RECKON  we  otter  make  Humbug  Canyon 
afore  dark  tew-night,"  Ham  declared,  as  our 
friends,  notwithstanding  the  break  in  their  rest  of 
the  night  before,  moved  out  of  the  little  valley,  where 
they  had  camped,  as  soon  as  it  became  light  enough 
to  see  the  trail  the  next  morning. 

"Yes,"  assented  Mr.  Conroyal,  "but  we  will  have 
to  keep  going  to  do  it.  Do  you  suppose  we  fooled 
Ugger  and  his  gang  and  threw  them  off  our  trail 
last  night  ?"  and  he  turned  a  little  anxiously  to  Ham 
and  Frank  Holt,  who  were  walking  by  his  side. 

"If  they  didn't  have  no  one  on  watch,  I  reckon  we 
did,"  answered  Ham ;  "but  it's  more'n  likely  they're 
cunnin'  enough  tew  be  on  th'  lookout  for  jest  such 
tricks  an'  that  they  know  right  now  where  we  be. 
They  know  it  wouldn't  dew  for  them  tew  lose  track 
of  us  in  this  here  wilderness  of  mountains,  where 
'twould  be  like  tryin'  tew  find  a  needle  in  a  haystack 
tew  try  tew  hit  our  trail  ag'in,  once  it  was  lost; 
an'  so,  I  reckon,  some  on  'em  has  got  an  eye  on  us 
right  now,  an'  that  we'll  have  tew  play  a  shrewder 
trick  than  that  tew  fool  'em.  But,  maybe,  'twill 
work  all  right  as  a  sort  of  a  blind,  an'  make  them 
299 


300  THe  Cave  of  Gold 

think  that  we  think  that  we  have  fooled  them,  an' 
so  make  'em  keerless,  so  that  we  can  fool  'em  th' 
next  time.  What  dew  you  think,  Steeltrap  ?"  Ham 
still  frequently  called  Frank  Holt  by  his  old  name, 
Steeltrap  Smith,  a  name  that  had  been  given  to  him 
on  account  of  his  skill  as  a  trapper,  when  his  own 
name  was  unknown  even  to  himself,  as  the  readers 
of  this  series  of  books  will  remember. 

"I  think  you  are  about  right,  Ham,"  replied  Holt, 
"although  I  should  not  be  much  surprised  if  we 
gave  them  the  slip  last  night.  I  kept  watch  all  the 
time  that  we  were  on  the  move  yesterday,  but  nary 
a  sign  of  anybody  following  our  trail  could  I  dis 
cover.  They  sure  must  have  a  cunning  trailer,  or 
else  they're  not  depending  on  keeping  us  in  sight. 
Perhaps  they  got  more  about  the  trail  from  the  old 
miner  than  we  think  they  did,  and  are  on  the  watch 
for  us  at  some  point  ahead,  which  they  know  we 
must  pass." 

"That's  a  shrewd  guess,  Frank,"  declared  Mr. 
Conroyal.  "Now,"  and  his  face  brightened,  "why 
wouldn't  it  be  a  good  plan  for  us  not  to  pass  through 
Humbug  Canyon  at  all;  but  to  go  around  it  and  to 
try  to  hit  the  trail  again  on  the  other  side  ?  If  there 
is  any  place  ahead  where  they  would  be  likely  to  be 
on  the  watch  for  us,  it  is  at  Humbug  Canyon,  be 
cause  that  is  the  last  place  on  the  trail  they  could  be 
sure  of  without  the  map.  The  trouble  will  be  to  get 
around  Humbug  Canyon.  Maybe  there  is  no  trail 
that  we  can  follow  but  the  one  running  through  the 


The  Mystery  of  the  Tent  301 

canyon.  Anybody  here  know  anything  about  the 
region  around  Humbug  Canyon?"  and,  raising  his 
voice,  he  stopped  and  looked  inquiringly  around. 

"Yes,  a  little/'  answered  Dickson,  quickly  coming 
forward.  "I  spent  about  two  weeks  last  fall  pros 
pecting  in  the  mountains  around  it.  What  would 
you  like  to  know?" 

"Can  we  go  to  one  side  of  Humbug  Canyon  and 
hit  the  trail  to  the  Cave  of  Gold  again  beyond  ?"  in 
quired  Conroyal  eagerly.  "If  there  has  been  any 
body  stationed  in  Humbug  Canyon  to  look  out  for 
us,  we  would  like  to  fool  them  by  not  passing 
through  it  at  all." 

"I  think  we  might  do  it  by  working  around 
through  Owl  Gulch  about  five  miles  to  the  east  of 
Humbug  Canyon,"  Dickson  answered  thought 
fully:  "but  it  will  be  considerable  out  of  our  way 
and  the  trail  won't  be  nigh  as  good.  I  am  not  ab 
solutely  sure,  but  I  think  we  could  get  through  all 
right  that  way  and  not  go  nigh  Humbug  Canyon." 

"Shall  we  risk  it?"  and  Mr.  Conroyal  turned  to 
the  men,  all  of  whom  had  been  interested  listeners 
to  his  query  and  to  Dickson's  answer. 

"I  think  the  idea  a  good  one,"  declared  Mr.  Ran 
dolph,  "because,  if  the  old  miner  told  them  that  the 
trail  to  the  cave  passed  through  Humbug  Canyon, 
they'd  be  sure  to  have  someone  on  the  watch  for  us 
there ;  and,  I  reckon,  we  are  good  enough  mountain 
eers  to  find  the  trail  on  the  other  side  without  much 
trouble." 


302  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"My  sentiments  tew  a  ha'r,"  agreed  Ham  em 
phatically.  "Let's  hit  for  Owl  Gulch.  Twould  be 
worth  goin'  a  hundred  miles  out  of  th'  way  tew 
shake  them  skunks." 

"All  right/'  and  Mr.  Conroyal  turned  to  Dickson. 
"You  are  the  guide  from  now  on,  Dick,  so  step  to 
the  front  and  we  will  follow." 

This  plan  appeared  to  please  all  except  Pedro, 
who,  bending  down  by  the  side  of  one  of  the  horses 
and  pretending  to  tighten  a  rope  holding  the  pack, 
scowled  furiously  and  swore  violently,  under  his 
breath,  in  Mexican;  and  the  scowl  was  still  on  his 
face,  when  he  again  straightened  up  and  prepared 
to  follow  along  with  the  pack-horses. 

"What's  the  trouble,  Pedro?  Flapjacks  getting 
busy?"  and  Thure  turned  a  grinning  face  to  the 
Mexican. 

"No.  Pack  slip  and  pinch  finger  in  rope.  Now 
all  right,"  and  the  smile  came  back  on  Pedro's  face. 

But  Thure  noticed  that  the  scowl  returned  again 
and  again  to  his  face  that  forenoon,  as  he  walked 
along  by  the  side  of  the  pack-horses. 

"Reckon  the  break  in  his  sleep  has  made  him 
cross,"  he  thought,  and  gave  the  matter  no  more 
attention. 

At  noon,  when  they  stopped  to  give  horses  and 
selves  a  short  rest  and  a  chance  to  eat  their  dinners, 
Pedro  slipped  off  behind  a  rock  for  some  ten  min 
utes  ;  and,  when  the  journey  was  resumed,  he  lagged 
a  little  behind  the  others,  pretending  to  be  tighten- 


The  Mystery  of  the  Tent  303 

ing  one  of  the  packs,  and,  once  again,  managed  to 
slip,  unseen,  a  little  piece  of  paper  under  a  stone 
and  leave  it  near  the  camp-fire  over  which  Mrs. 
Dickson  had  heated  the  coffee.  This  little  feat 
seemed  to  fully  restore  his  good-nature;  for  there 
were  no  more  scowls  on  his  face  that  day. 

About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  Dickson  halted, 
where  the  stream  along  whose  bank  they  had  been 
walking  for  the  last  two  hours  forked,  one  branch 
flowing  almost  directly  from  the  north  and  the  other, 
coming  from  the  east,  with  a  huge  triangle  of  moun 
tains  widening  out  between  them. 

'Thither  runs  the  trail  to  Humbug  Canyon/'  and 
he  pointed  to  the  northern  stream ;  "and  thither  runs 
the  trail  to  Owl  Gulch/'  and  his  finger  turned  to  the 
eastern  branch.  "We  are  now  about  two  hours 
from  Humbug  Canyon  and  some  four  hours  from 
Owl  Gulch.  Remember  I  am  not  absolutely  sure  I 
can  find  the  trail  the  other  side  of  Humbug  Canyon ; 
but  I  think  I  can.  Stackpole  and  I  went  by  way  of 
the  canyon.  Now,  which  shall  it  be?" 

"Owl  Gulch/'  answered  Mr.  Conroyal  promptly. 
"I  reckon  we  can  find  the  trail  all  right  again — Hi, 
there,  Pedro,  what  sort  of  a  heathenish  charm  is 
that  you  are  making?"  and  he  turned  abruptly  to 
Pedro,  who  the  moment  they  had  stopped  had  begun 
scratching  curious  lines  with  his  knife  on  the  face 
of  a  soft  rock,  by  the  side  of  which  they  had  halted. 

"Si,  senor,"  and  Pedro  turned  a  solemn  face  to 
Mr.  Conroyal,  "  'tis  but  a  holy  cross  I  am  cutting 


304  The  Cave  of  Gold 

to  scare  the  devils  away  from  following  us  up  that 
evil-smelling  stream,"  and  he  pointed  to  the  east 
fork  of  the  little  river,  from  which  arose  a  faint 
odor. 

"Wai/'  grinned  Ham,  "I  shore  dew  hope  that  you 
scare  'em  away;  for  thar  shore  is  devils  a-follerin' 
us,"  and  his  grin  broadened  at  sight  of  the  startled 
look  that  came  into  Pedro's  face. 

"Madre  de  DiosT  and  Pedro  crossed  himself 
swiftly. 

"But,  even  a  devil  must  cotch  a  feller  afore  he 
can  run  his  pitchfork  intew  him,"  and  Ham  chuck 
led;  "an'  we  ain't  cotched  yit.  As  for  that  thar 
stream,"  and  he  chuckled  again,  "th'  devil  once  took 
a  drink  out  of  it,  an'  it's  smelt  of  his  breath  ever 


since." 


"There,  that  will  do,  Ham,"  laughed  Mr.  Con- 
royal.  "Come  on,"  and  he  started  up  the  east  fork 
of  the  river. 

Pedro,  the  snaky  look  in  his  eyes  showing  more 
plainly  than  ever,  swiftly  cut  a  small  arrow,  with  its 
head  pointing  up  the  east  fork  of  the  rivulet,  under 
neath  the  cross,  slipped  the  knife  back  into  its  sheath, 
and  followed  with  the  pack-horses,  his  sallow  face 
now  all  smiles.  Evidently  he  had  explicit  faith  in 
the  power  of  his  charm  to  keep  the  devils  from  fol 
lowing  them  up  the  evil-smelling  stream. 

That  night  our  friends  camped  in  Owl  Gulch,  a 
steep,  narrow  defile,  little  more  than  a  crack  in  the 
huge  walls  of  surrounding  rock;  and  the  next  day, 


The  Mystery  of  the  Tent  305 

after  much  arduous  and  violent  climbing  for  horses 
and  men  up  the  gulch  and  over  the  low  back  of  a 
mountain,  they  passed  down  into  a  quiet  little  valley, 
just  as  the  sun  sank  behind  the  tops  of  the  moun 
tains  to  the  west. 

The  moment  Dickson  entered  the  valley  he  uttered 
an  exclamation  of  pleasure. 

"Hurrah !"  he  cried.  "We've  hit  the  trail  again ! 
I  am  sure  this  is  the  little  valley  where  Stackpole  and 
I  camped  the  first  night  out  from  Humbug  Canyon. 
There  should  be  a  spring  bubbling  out  of  the  ground 
at  the  point  of  that  spur  of  rocks  where  you  see  that 
little  grove  of  trees,"  and  he  pointed  to  a  small  grove 
of  trees  that  clustered  about  the  point  of  a  ridge  of 
rocks  that  projected,  like  a  long  bony  finger,  from 
the  side  of  the  surrounding  mountains  down  into  the 
little  valley.  "We  made  our  camp  in  the  grove.  I'll 
know  the  place  for  sure  when  we  get  there  by  a  tree 
that  Stackpole  girdled/'  and,  accompanied  by  Thure 
and  Bud,  he  started  on  the  run  for  the  little  grove 
of  trees  now  about  half  a  mile  away. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  three  reached  the  trees.  The 
spring  was  there !  By  its  side  stood  a  tall  sycamore 
tree,  dead,  its  trunk  having  been  girdled  by  an  ax, 
as  the  deep  scars  in  its  bark  still  plainly  showed. 

"There,"  and  Dickson  pointed  triumphantly  to  the 
tree,  "there  is  my  witness,  the  very  tree  that  Stack- 
pole  girdled,  in  order  that  he  might  have  plenty  of 
dry  wood  the  next  time  that  he  camped  here.  And 
see,"  and  he  pointed  excitedly  to  the  blackened  re- 


306  The  Cave  of  Gold 

mains  of  a  camp-fire  that  did  not  look  to  be  many 
weeks  old,  "there  is  where  he  camped  on  his  way 
back  from  the  Cave  of  Gold.  We  sure  are  in  luck !" 
and  he  turned  to  shout  the  good  news  to  the  others, 
who  were  now  pushing  their  way  eagerly  through 
the  trees. 

"Here  is  where  we  camp  for  the  night/'  declared 
Mr.  Conroyal,  when  the  excitement  and  the  jubila 
tion  of  the  discovery  that  they  were  surely  on  the 
right  trail  again  had  somewhat  quieted  down ;  and 
all  at  once  began  joyfully  preparing  the  camp  for  the 
night. 

"It's  queer  how  things  dew  turn  out  sometimes," 
philosophized  Ham,  when  all  were  seated  around  a 
blazing  camp-fire,  built  from  the  limbs  of  the  dead 
sycamore,  after  the  supper  had  been  eaten  and  all 
the  camp  duties  attended  to.  "Th'  miner  that  mur 
dered  that  tree,  jest  so  that  he  might  have  dry  wood, 
was  murdered  himself,  jest  for  his  gold;  an'  here  we 
be  a-settin'  around  an'  takin'  comfort  from  a  camp- 
fire  built  from  th'  dead  limbs  of  th'  dead  miner's  dead 
tree,  an'  bound  on  a  hunt  for  th'  dead  miner's  gold. 
Wai,  I  shore  hopes  we  have  better  luck  than  he 
did." 

"Oh,  shut  up,  Ham!"  and  Rex  threw  a  discarded 
flapjack  at  Ham's  head,  with  such  good  aim  that  it 
landed  squarely  over  his  big  mouth.  "You  are 
enough  to  give  the  dumps  to  a  man  with  the  tooth 
ache." 

When  the  laugh  that  followed  this  admirable  use 


The  Mystery  of  the  Tent  307 

of  valuable  ammunition  had  quieted  down,  Dickson 
turned  to  Mr.  Conroyal. 

"I  think  I  would  like  to  have  another  look  at  that 
skin  map/'  he  said. 

"Certain,  get  the  map,  Thure,"  and  Mr.  Conroyal 
turned  to  Thure. 

Thure  hesitated  a  moment,  and  then,  catching 
sight  of  Mrs.  Dickson's  little  tent  and  receiving  a 
smiling  nod  from  her,  he  quickly  entered  the  tent, 
and  a  few  minutes  later  came  out  with  the  skin  map 
in  his  hand,  and  handed  it  to  Mr.  Dickson. 

Pedro,  who  was  standing  near,  washing  the  few 
supper  dishes  in  a  gold-pan,  started  a  little  and  al 
most  visibly  pricked  up  his  ears  at  the  first  mention 
of  the  skin  map,  and  his  evil  eyes  followed  Thure 
into  the  tent,  with  an  intensity  of  look  that  was  well 
for  him  was  unseen  by  his  employers. 

Dickson  took  the  map  and  spread  it  out  on  his 
knees,  where  the  light  of  the  camp-fire  shone  full 
upon  it;  and  soon  all  were  gathered  around  him, 
yes,  all,  even  Pedro,  who  had  softly  left  his  dish 
washing  and  tip-toeing  up  to  the  heads  bending  ab- 
sorbedly  over  the  map,  was  now  striving  to  secure 
a  glimpse  of  the  skin  map  directly  from  over  the  big 
shoulders  of  Ham. 

Suddenly  Ham  straightened  up  his  huge  frame, 
with  such  a  sudden  jerk,  that  one  of  his  shoulders 
came  in  so  violent  a  contact  with  the  point  of  Pedro's 
chin  that  the  Mexican  was  lifted  off  his  feet  and 
thrown  flat  on  his  back  to  the  ground. 


308  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"Wai,  I'll  be  durned !"  and  Ham  stared  down  in 
astonishment  on  the  fallen  Mexican.  "Thought  I 
heer'd  someone  breathin'  over  my  shoulder.  Now 
what  might  you  be  dewin'  down  thar  ?"  and  the  eyes 
that  glared  down  into  Pedro's  face  began  to  glow 
angrily. 

"I — I"  stammered  Pedro,  as  he  staggered  a  little 
dizzily  to  his  feet,  both  hands  holding  onto  his  head. 
"I  but  try  to  see  what  make  so  great  interest  to 
senors,  when  sudden  up  comes  that  great  body  and 
hit  chin,  like  bunt  of  big  bull,  and  knock  head  to 
ground.  I  did  but  follow  my  head,  sefior." 

"Jest  follered  y'ur  head,  did  you?"  and  Ham's 
anger  vanished  in  roars  of  laughter,  at  the  words  of 
the  unfortunate  Mexican  and  the  looks  on  his  face, 
in  which  he  was  heartily  joined  by  all  the  others, 
all  except  Mrs.  Dickson,  who  inquired  solicitously 
of  Pedro  if  he  was  much  hurt. 

But  Pedro's  curiosity  for  the  moment  was  fully 
satisfied,  and,  without  making  any  reply,  except  to 
mutter  something  about  American  bulls  under  his 
breath,  he  retreated  to  his  dish  washing. 

"Sarved  him  right,"  declared  Ham  emphatically, 
as  all  again  resumed  their  examination  of  the  skin 
map. 

When  the  map  had  been  sufficiently  examined, 
Thure  again  retired  into  Mrs.  Dickson's  tent,  where 
he  again  concealed  the  map  in  the  bosom  of  his  shirt; 
and  when  he  came  out  again,  apparently  without  the 
map,  Pedro  smiled  knowingly. 


The  Mystery  of  the  Tent  309 

Before  going  to  her  tent  that  night  Mrs.  Dickson 
sang  a  number  of  songs,  and  almost  weirdly  beau 
tiful  her  voice  sounded  in  the  still  night  air  of  that 
little  wilderness  valley,  concluding  with  Ham's  fa 
vorite  "Ben  Bolt/'  Then  she  bade  them  all  good 
night  and  disappeared  into  her  little  tent. 

Mr.  Dickson  and  Thure  were  to  stand  guard  that 
night  until  the  moon  came  up,  which  would  be  about: 
one  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Consequently,  as  soon 
as  Mrs.  Dickson  retired,  all  but  these  two  rolled 
themselves  up  in  their  blankets  near  the  camp-fire 
and  were  soon  sound  asleep.  Thure  and  Dickson 
each  picked  up  his  rifle  and  took  his  station  on  oppo 
site  sides  of  the  camp  and  began  his  long  silent  vigil.. 

The  skies  were  overcast  with  clouds  and  the  dark 
ness  was  so  dense  that  the  watchers  could  not  see 
six  feet  outside  of  the  constantly  dimming  circle  of 
the  firelight.  In  a  couple  of  hours  the  fire  had 
burnt  down  so  low,  that,  from  where  Thure  stood 
near  the  horses,  he  could  not  even  see  the  white  of 
Mrs.  Dickson's  tent,  although  it  was  not  over  ten- 
yards  from  where  he  stood;  and  he  was  about  to 
step  forward  to  replenish  it,  when  a  dark  object 
leaped  by  him,  so  close  that  he  could  have  touched 
it  with  his  outstretched  rifle,  and  disappeared  in  the 
darkness  before  he  could  utter  a  word  or  throw  his, 
gun  to  his  shoulder,  and  the  next  instant  the  air 
was  rent  by  a  piercing  shriek  from  Pedro,  followed 
by  the  flash  and  the  report  of  his  pistol  and  his  yells 
of  fright. 


310  The  Cave  of  Gold 

In  an  instant  every  man  in  the  camp  was  on  his 
feet,  his  rifle  in  his  hands,  calling  excitedly:  "What 
is  the  trouble?"  "What  has  happened?''  and  run 
ning  to  where  Pedro  was  rolling  about  on  the 
ground,  calling  on  all  the  saints  in  the  Mexican 
calendar  to  protect  him,  seemingly  frantic  with  fear. 

"Stop  that  yellin',  you  Mexican  coyote,  an'  tell  us 
what  has  happened,  quick,"  and  Ham  bent  down 
and,  seizing  the  squirming  Pedro  by  the  shoulders, 
jerked  him  to  his  feet  and  dragged  him  unceremo 
niously  to  the  camp-fire,  which  an  armful  of  dry 
fuel  caused  to  blaze  up  brightly. 

"Madre  de  Dios!  I  know  not!  I  know  not!" 
cried  the  man,  glaring  wildly  about  him  and  cling 
ing  to  Ham.  "Unless  it  was  the  devil  of  these  evil 
mountains.  I  lay  sleeping,  rolled  up  in  my  blanket, 
when, — poof! — something  hit  my  side  and  some 
thing  big  and  ugly  tumble  all  over  me  and 
I  see  something  black  and  awful  jump  in 
the  darkness  and  I  grab  my  pistol  I  always  sleep 
with  me  in  blanket  and  shoot — bang ! — and  the  big 
black  thing  give  one  great  jump  and  vanish,  just 
like  a  black  devil,  in  the  darkness.  Santissima!  I 
know  not  what  he  was,  if  he  was  not  the  devil! 
I—" 

"I  saw  him  rush  by  me  so  close  that  I  might  have 
touched  him  with  my  rifle,"  here  broke  in  Thure; 
"but,  before  I  could  speak  or  shoot,  he  had  disap 
peared  in  the  darkness,  and  then  came  Pedro's  shot 
and  yells." 


The  Mystery  of  the  Tent  311 

"Look  to  the  horses!"  cried  Mr.  Conroyal.  "See 
that  everything  is  safe !" 

At  that  moment  Dickson  appeared  in  the  circle 
of  light  made  by  the  camp-fire. 

"All  the  horses  are  safe/'  he  said.  "Nothing  ap 
pears  to  be  missing.  What  does  all  this  excitement 
mean?  I  saw  nothing,  heard  nothing,  until  the 
shooting  and  yelling  began — "  He  stopped  ab 
ruptly  and  glanced  swiftly  around.  "Mollie! 
Where's  Mollie  ?"  and  he  sprang  toward  the  tent. 

"Gosh !  I  plumb  forgot  th'  Leetle  Woman !  She 
shore  otter  have  showed  up  afore  this/'  and  Ham's 
face  whitened,  as  his  eyes  followed  Dickson  into  the 
little  tent. 

The  fire  was  now  burning  so  brightly  that  the 
tent  showed  plainly  in  its  ruddy  light ;  and  the  eyes 
of  all  fixed  themselves  on  it,  a  look  of  dreadful 
apprehension  on  each  whitening  face. 

For  a  moment  all  was  silent  after  Dickson  dis 
appeared  in  the  tent ;  and  then  came  a  yell  of  horror 
that  made  every  man  jump  for  the  tent,  just  as  Dick- 
son  staggered  out  with  a  squirming  bundle  in  his 
arms,  that  he  quickly  laid  down  on  the  ground  and 
began  frantically  untying  the  deerskin  thongs  with 
which  it  was  tightly  bound. 

"Great  God,  if  'tain't  th'  Leetle  Woman!"  and 
Ham  bent  excitedly  and  with  his  knife  began  cutting 
the  thongs,  which  bound  Mrs.  Dickson,  head  and 
all,  in  her  own  blanket  as  tightly  as  an  Egyptiaa 
mummy. 


312  The  Cave  of  Gold 

In  a  moment  her  body  was  free;  but,  when  the 
blanket  was  lifted  from  her  face,  her  mouth  was 
found  to  be  so  tightly  stuffed,  with  a  piece  of  cloth 
torn  from  her  own  dress,  that  she  could  not  utter 
an  audible  sound.  Dickson' s  strong  fingers  quickly 
pulled  the  cloth  out  of  her  mouth ;  and  she  lay,  white 
and  gasping  for  breath,  but  apparently  unhurt,, 
staring  up  wildly  into  the  faces  of  the  excited  men. 

"Take  her  into  the  tent,  Dick,  until  she  recovers 
from  her  fright  and  rough  usage/'  whispered  Mr. 
Conroyal,  bending  close  to  Dickson's  ear. 

Dickson  quickly  lifted  his  wife  into  his  arms  and 
carried  her  into  the  tent. 

"Who  did  it?"  and  Mr.  Conroyal's  eyes  searched 
anxiously  the  angry  and  mystified  faces  of  the  men, 
the  moment  Mr.  Dickson  vanished  with  his  burden 
in  the  tent. 

"Th'  Lord  alone  knows  for  sart'in,"  answered 
Ham.  "But,  I  reckon,  'twas  one  of  them  durned 
skunks.  Jest  wait  'til  th'  Leetle  Woman  gits  tew 
feelin'  like  herself  ag'in  an'  maybe  she  can  give  us 
some  useful  information." 

But,  in  this  conjecture,  Ham  was  wrong;  for, 
when  something  like  half  an  hour  later,  Mrs.  Dick- 
son  came  out  the  tent,  leaning  on  her  husband's  arm 
and  looking  very  white,  but  otherwise  little  the 
worse  for  her  experience,  all  the  information  she 
could  give  only  added  to  the  mystery. 

She  had  been  sound  asleep  when  the  attack  was 
made.  The  first  thing  she  knew  a  hand  held  her 


The  Mystery  of  the  Tent  313 

by  the  throat,  so  tightly  that  she  could  not  utter  a 
sound;  and,  when  she  opened  her  mouth,  gasping 
vainly  for  breath,  it  was  instantly  stuffed  full  of 
rags,  so  firmly  that  she  could  not  utter  a  loud  sound 
Then  the  hand  was  taken  from  her  throat,  her  arms 
pressed  closely  to  her  sides,  and  she  was  tightly 
rolled  up  in  her  own  blanket,  head  and  all,  and  tied 
the  way  they  had  found  her.  For  some  little  time 
after  that  she  heard  her  assailant  cautiously 
searching  the  tent.  He  appeared  to  be  exceedingly 
anxious  to  find  something ;  for  every  possible  hiding- 
place  in  the  tent  had  been  thoroughly  searched  and 
every  package  or  bundle  had  been  opened.  When 
the  search  was  over,  she  heard  the  intruder  creep 
softly  out  of  the  tent.  Then  had  followed  a  few 
minutes  of  silence  broken  suddenly  by  Pedro's  yells 
and  shot.  Owing  to  the  darkness  and  to  the  fact 
that  her  eyes  had  been  covered  as  quickly  as  possi 
ble,  she  could  not  give  any  idea  of  what  her  assail 
ant  looked  like,  only  she  did  not  think  he  was  a  large- 
man. 

This  was  all  the  information  that  Mrs.  Dickson- 
could  give;  and  a  thorough  search  of  the  tent  with 
a  torch  added  nothing  to  it. 

Thure  and  Pedro  were  again  examined ;  but  they 
could  give  no  definite  information.  Thure  had 
only  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  man,  as  he  had  rushed 
by  him  in  the  darkness ;  and  Pedro  appeared  to  have 
been  too  nearly  frightened  out  of  his  wits  to  have 
seen  anything  correctly,  even  if  it  had  been  clear 


3  H  The  Cave  of  Gold 

daylight,  instead  of  the  black  night  that  it  was. 
However  both  disagreed  with  Mrs.  Dickson  in  one 
particular.  Thure  felt  quite  sure  that  the  man  who 
rushed  by  him  was  a  large  man;  and  Pedro  was 
positive  that  he  was  a  giant  in  size.  Dickson  had 
not  seen  the  man  at  all.  The  horses  and  the  packs, 
indeed  the  whole  camp,  were  thoroughly  examined 
with  lighted  torches;  but  nothing  was  found  miss 
ing,  nothing  had  even  been  disturbed  outside  of 
Mrs.  Dickson's  tent,  and  from  here,  so  far  as  they 
could  discover,  not  a  thing  had  been  taken. 

"It's  'bout  as  plain  as  th'  nose  on  a  man's  face 
that  he  was  after  th'  skin  map,"  Ham  commented, 
when  all  had  again  gathered  around  the  camp-fire 
to  consider  the  mystery;  "but,  why  should  he  look 
for  it  in  th'  tent?  an'  how  did  he  git  in  thar?  that's 
what  gits  me,"  and  Ham  shook  his  head.  "Wai, 
thar  is  no  use  figgerin'  on  it  any  longer  tew-night. 
Let's  git  back  intew  our  blankets ;  an'  maybe  we  can 
see  things  clearer  in  th'  mornin'.  It's  tew  tarnel 
dark  even  tew  think,"  and  Ham  laid  down  on  his 
blanket  and  rolled  himself  up  in  it  and  refused  to 
have  another  word  to  say  about  the  mystery  that 
night. 

"Reckon  Ham  is  right,"  Mr.  Conroyal  declared, 
as  that  worthy  disappeared  in  his  blanket.  "But 
I  sure  would  like  to  have  a  look  at  the  man,  who 
can  creep  into  our  camp  at  night,  right  under  the 
noses  of  the  guards,  and  tie  one  of  us  up  in  a  blanket, 


The  Mystery  of  the  Tent  315 

and  search  a  tent,  and  make  a  clean  getaway.  I 
sure  would  like  to  have  a  look  at  that  man." 

"I'd  want  more  than  a  look,"  and  Mr.  Dickson 
clenched  both  his  hands.  "Fd  just  like  to  get  hold 
of  him  for  about  five  minutes,  the  scoundrel  1" 

"And  you  are  not  the  only  one,  Dick,"  and  an 
angry  light  flashed  into  Mr.  Conroyal's  eyes.  "But, 
what's  the  use!  He's  got  away;  and  without  leav 
ing  a  clue,  so  far  as  I  can  see.  Let's  get  into  our 
blankets.  Maybe,  as  Ham  says,  we  can  see  clearer 
in  the  morning.  Good  night,"  and  Mr.  Conroyal 
turned  to  his  blanket,  followed  by  all  the  others, 
except  Bud  and  Mr.  Randolph,  who  were  to  act  as 
guards  during  the  remainder  of  the  night. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

ON  THE  SHORE  OF  GOOSE  NECK  LAKE 

HPHE  next  morning  the  camp  was  again  thor- 
••>  oughly  examined;  but  no  clues  to  the  identity 
of  the  intruder  of  the  night  before  could  be  found, 
.nor  could  they  follow  his  trail  beyond  the  spot 
^wleere  he  had  apparently  stumbled  over  Pedro. 
.H-ere  the  ground,  which  happened  to  be  a  little  soft, 
plainly  showed  where  he  had  fallen  and  jumped  to 
"his  feet  and  leaped  off  in  the  direction  of  the  point 
-of  rocks,  but  farther  than  this  it  was  impossible  to 
trail  him  on  account  of  the  hardness  of  the  ground. 
There  was  absolutely  nothing  more  that  they  could 
do;  for  it  would  be  useless  to  attempt  to  run  him 
down  in  that  wilderness  of  mountains;  and  they 
were  obliged  to  leave  the  mystery  of  the  tent ;  it  was 
a  great  mystery  to  those  strong  watchful  men  how 
the  gagging  and  the  binding  of  Mrs.  Dickson  had 
been  so  quietly  and  effectively  accomplished,  un 
solved  for  the  present. 

"Don't  look  much  as  if  we'd  thrown  th'  cunnin' 
devils  off  our  trail,  does  it?"  Ham  grumbled,  as 
our  little  company  again  started  on  their  journey. 
"  Tears  like  as  if  we'd  had  all  our  trouble  for  our 
pains  so  far.  Wai,  they  didn't  git  th'  skin  map; 

316 


On  the  Shore  of  Goose  Neck  Lake       317 

but  it  shows  they  shore  could  have  got  it,  if  they'd 
knowed  whar  it  was/'  and  his  face  clouded.  "They 
might  have  sneaked  up  ahind  Dickson  or  Thure 
jest  as  easy  an'  knocked  'em  senseless  an'  bound  an' 
gagged  'em.  Reckon  we've  got  tew  be  more  keer- 
ful  or  they'll  git  th'  map  yit.  'Bout  how  much 
longer  will  it  take  us  tew  git  tew  that  thar  can 
yon?"  and  he  turned  anxiously  to  Mr.  Dickson. 

"We  ought  to  make  it  in  three  days  sure,"  an 
swered  Dickson.  "Stackpole  and  I  did  it  in  a  little 
over  two  days  from  here;  but,  on  account  of  the 
pack-horses,  it  will  probably  take  us  a  little  longer." 

"Shore  you  remember  th'  trail?" 

"Yes,"  and  Dickson's  eyes  turned  northward. 
"Now  that  I  am  on  the  ground,  things  come  back 
to  me.  See  that  opening  between  those  two  moun 
tains?"  and  Dickson  pointed  to  a  ravine-like  de 
pression  between  two  mountains  some  four  or  five 
miles  away.  "Well,  I  know  we  went  up  that  ravine, 
because  Stackpole  pointed  it  out  to  me  right  from 
here,  just  as  I  am  pointing  it  out  to  you;  and  that 
ravine,  after  a  couple  of  miles,  widens  out  into  quite 
a  little  valley,  with  the  mountain,  called  Three  Tree 
Mountain  on  the  map,  near  its  upper  end." 

"Wai,  we  shore  was  in  luck,  Dick,  when  we  took 
you  intew  th'  partnership,"  Ham  declared  heartily; 
"for,  I  reckon,  we'd  had  a  durned  long  hunt  a-findin' 
our  way  jest  by  that  map,  but  now  all  we've  got 
tew  do  is  jest  tew  foller  y'ur  lead.  Wai,  lead  on," 
and  he  grinned. 


318  The  Cave  of  Gold 

Dickson  proved  that  his  memory  of  the  trail  was 
correct;  for,  after  they  had  entered  the  ravine  be 
tween  the  two  mountains  and  had  gone  up  it  for 
a  couple  of  miles,  it  opened  out  into  a  beautiful  lit 
tle  valley;  and  there,  near  its  upper  end,  stood  a 
huge  round-topped  mountain,  bald  of  head,  except 
for  three  tall  trees  that  stood  out  against  the  horizon 
like  three  lonely  sentinels. 

"Hurrah!"  yelled  Thure,  the  moment  his  eyes 
caught  sight  of  this  mountain.  "There  is  Three 
Tree  Mountain!  We  sure  are  on  the  right  trail. 
Bully  for  Dickson  r 

Our  friends  now  had  passed  beyond  the  realm  of 
the  hitherto  ubiquitous  miner.  The  wilderness  was 
supreme.  Everywhere  around  them  mountains 
and  forests  and  valleys  and  streams  stood  un 
changed,  as  they  came  from  the  hand  of  God. 

Game  of  all  kinds  was  abundant.  Bud  shot  a 
young  buck  elk,  which  they  ate  for  supper,  when 
they  went  into  camp  for  the  night  at  the  foot  of 
Three  Tree  Mountain. 

The  guard  was  doubled  that  night  and  the  camp- 
fire  was  kept  blazing  brightly,  so  that  no  one  could 
creep  into  camp  unseen  under  cover  of  the  dark 
ness.  These  precautions  proved  effectual;  and  the 
night  was  passed  without  alarm. 

Dickson  found  no  trouble  in  following  the  trail 
during  the  day.  At  every  turning  point  some  re 
membered  landmark  would  show  him  the  right 
way  to  go.  A  short  time  before  night  they  passed 


On  the  Shore  of  Goose  Neck  Lake       319 

over  a  ridge  of  rocks  and  looked  down  into  a  quiet 
little  valley,  near  the  center  of  which  lay  a  beautiful 
little  lake. 

"Behold  I"  cried  Dickson,  pointing  to  the  water, 
that  shone  like  red  gold  in  the  red  rays  of  the  set 
ting  sun.  "Behold,  Goose  Neck  Lake!  It  was 
while  standing  at  this  very  spot  and  looking  down 
on  the  peculiar  necklike  bend  of  the  lake,  that 
Stackpole  gave  it  the  name,  Goose  Neck  Lake. 
There  is  a  little  grove  of  trees  on  its  north  shore 
that  will  make  us  a  fine  camping  place.  And  to 
morrow  afternoon  sometime  we  should  be  in  Lot's 
Canyon !  Come  on,"  and  he  hurried  down  the  ridge 
toward  the  lake. 

It  was  dark  when  they  reached  the  north  shore 
of  the  lake  and  pitched  their  camp  in  the  little  grove 
of  trees.  All  were  in  high  spirits ;  for  on  the  mor 
row  they  would  be  in  Lot's  Canyon,  almost  at  their 
journey's  end,  almost  within  reach  of  the  Cave  of 
Gold! 

For  the  last  two  days  they  had  not  seen  nor 
heard  a  sign  of  their  enemies  and  they  were  be 
ginning  to  hope  that,  in  the  maze  of  deep  gulches 
and  ravines  and  little  mountain-enclosed  valleys 
through  which  they  had  been  passing,  they  had 
given  them  the  slip,  and  this  hope  added  to  their 
cheer.  Consequently  the  little  group  that  gathered 
around  the  camp-fire  that  night  was  unusually 
merry — all  except  Pedro,  who  went  about  his  camp 
duties  with  a  sullen  troubled  look  on  his  face. 


320  The  Cave  of  Gold 

Ever  since  the  night  Mrs.  Dickson  had  been  found 
tightly  bound  in  her  tent,  his  face  had  worn  a 
troubled  expression  and  his  eyes  were  continually 
turning  to  Thure,  with  a  wondering  questioning 
look  in  them,  as  if  there  were  something  about  the 
boy  that  he  could  not  understand;  and  every  time 
he  had  heard  the  name  of  the  skin  map  mentioned 
he  had  become  instantly  alert,  but  always  in  such 
a  way  as  not  to  attract  attention  in  his  direction. 
Now,  on  this  night,  his  was  the  only  gloomy  face 
in  the  company. 

"Looks  as  if  we  had  given  th'  skunks  th'  slip  at 
last/'  Ham  said,  as  he  seated  himself  on  his  blanket, 
spread  near  the  blazing  fire,  and  leaned  back  com 
fortably  on  his  elbow.  "An'  I  don't  wonder;  for 
I  don't  believe  even  Kit  Carson  himself  could  have 
kept  on  our  trail  through  all  them  short  twistin' 
gulches  an'  thick  woods,  through  which  we've  ben 
passin'  for  th'  past  tew  days.  Howsomever,  I 
reckon,  we  hadn't  better  let  up  none  on  th'  caution 
bus'ness — But,  let  us  forgit  them  skunks  an'  turn 
pur  minds  tew  more  pleasant  things,  like  a  song 
from  th'  Leetle  Woman,"  and  he  turned  to  Mrs. 
Dickson.  "I  jest  sorter  feel  hungry  for  music  to 
night.  Please  sing  'Old  Dan  Tucker/  an'  Th' 
Emergrants  Lament'  an' — " 

"  'Ben  Bolt/  "  laughed  Thure. 

"Shore,"  grinned  Ham.  "I  couldn't  go  tew  sleep 
without  hearin'  'Ben  Bolt/  but  let  us  have  'Old  Dan 
Tucker'  first." 


On  the  Shore  of  Goose  Neck  Lake       321 

Mrs.  Dickson  was  in  splendid  voice  that  night 
and  sang  with  unusual  fervor,  even  for  her;  and 
the  men  kept  begging  her  for  "just  one  more  song," 
until,  at  last,  with  a  laugh,  she  declared  she  just 
couldn't  sing  another  song,  and,  bidding  them  all 
good  night,  hurried  into  her  tent. 

The  guard  was  again  doubled  that  night  and  in 
structed  to  keep  the  camp-fire  blazing  brightly. 
Hammer  Jones,  Frank  Holt,  Mr.  Randolph,  and 
Dill  Conroyal,  were  to  keep  the  first  watch,  through 
the  darkest  hours  of  the  night,  before  the  moon 
came  up.  The  night  was  clear  and  the  starlight 
bright  enough  to  make  objects  dimly  visible  a  few 
rods  away.  The  grove  where  they  were  encamped 
was  not  large  and  the  guards  were  stationed  in  its 
outskirts,  where  they  could  patrol  all  around  it. 

Hammer  Jones'  post  was  near  the  horses,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  grove  from  the  lake.  About 
twenty  rods  from  him,  out  on  the  open  valley  stood 
a  large  tree,  with  three  or  four  smaller  trees  grow 
ing  around  it.  In  the  starlight  he  could  see  the 
outlines  of  these  trees  dimly.  He  stationed  himself 
in  the  dark  shadows  of  a  large  tree,  where  he  could 
keep  one  eye  on  the  horses  and  the  camp,  illuminated 
by  the  blazing  camp-fire,  and  the  other  on  the  sur 
rounding  valley. 

For  a  couple  of  hours  he  neither  saw  nor  heard 
a  suspicious  sign  or  sound.  Then  from  the  little 
clump  of  trees  came  the  hoot  of  an  owl  that  caused 
him  to  straighten  up  quickly  and  to  listen  intently. 


322  The  Cave  of  Gold 

Ham  had  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  the 
wilderness ;  and  the  voices  of  its  wild  dwellers  were 
as  familiar  to  him  as  were  the  voices  of  his  fellow 
men;  and  something  in  the  first  hoot  of  that  owl 
had  awakened  his  suspicions.  It  did  not  sound  ex 
actly  right.  There  was  a  false  quaver  at  the  end. 
In  a  minute  the  hoot  was  repeated,  still  with  that 
unnatural  quaver  at  its  end. 

Along  the  outskirts  of  the  grove  grew  a  thin 
line  of  short  bushes.  Ham  now  bent  down  until 
his  form  was  hidden  by  these  bushes,  and  began 
creeping  slowly  and  very  cautiously  toward  the 
clump  of  trees.  In  this  way  he  was  able  to  get 
some  three  or  four  rods  nearer  to  the  spot  that 
had  awakened  his  suspicions.  During  this  cau 
tious  forward  movement  the  hoot  of  the  owl  had 
been  repeated  three  times,  at  intervals  of  about  a 
minute,  and  the  same  false  note  had  been  sounded 
each  time. 

"I'd  bet  th'  last  coonskin  in  my  pack  that  that's 
no  owl  hootin',"  Ham  muttered  softly  to  himself, 
fixing  his  eyes  intently  on  the  dark  shadows  under 
neath  the  trees. 

Suddenly  he  fancied  he  saw  one  of  the  shadows 
move. 

"By  gum,  I'll  chance  a  shot !"  and  swiftly  throw 
ing  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder,  he  fired  at  the  spot 
where  he  thought  he  had  seen  the  shadow  move. 

There  was  a  faint  sound,  like  a  smothered  ex 
clamation  ;  and  then  all  was  still  in  the  little  grove 


On  the  Shore  of  Goose  Neck  Lake       323 

of  trees,  nor  could  Ham's  straining  eyes  detect  any 
further  movements. 

But  his  shot  had  aroused  the  camp;  and  now  all 
the  men,  except  the  guard,  came  running  to  him, 
their  rifles  in  their  hands,  excitedly  calling  to  know 
what  was  the  matter. 

"Jest  a  suspicious  hoot  of  an  owl  an*  a  movin' 
shader,"  answered  Ham.  "I  reckon  thar  was  one 
of  them  durned  skunks  a-hidin'  in  that  clump  of 
trees,  a-callin'  out  some  signal;  an'  I  shouldn't  be 
none  s'prised  if  my  bullet  pinked  him.  Leastwise 
I  thought  I  heer'd  a  smothered  cry." 

"Get  torches  and  we  will  see,"  cried  Mr.  Con- 
royal  excitedly.  "Maybe  you  got  him,  Ham/' 

Thure  and  Bud  hurried  to  the  camp-fire  and  soon 
were  back  with  blazing  pine  torches  in  their  hands. 

There  were  no  hostile  Indians  in  that  part  of  the 
country,  and  they  knew  that  Ugger  and  his  gang 
could  not  be  there  yet  in  sufficient  force  to  dare  ven 
ture  to  attack  them,  so  they  did  not  fear  to  ad 
vance  on  the  little  clump  of  trees  with  lighted 
torches  in  their  hands. 

There  were  three  small  trees  and  the  one  large 
tree  and  a  few  low  bushes  in  the  clump.  The 
ground  around  these  was  as  carefully  searched  as 
was  possible  by  the  light  of  the  torches;  but  not 
a  sign  of  Ham's  human  owl  did  they  find. 

"Must  have  been  a  real  owl  after  all,  Ham/'  Mr. 
Conroyal  said,  as  he  was  about  to  give  up  the 
search  and  to  return  to  the  camp. 


324  The  Cave  of  Gold 

But,  at  this  moment,  Thure  uttered  a  startled  ex 
clamation  and,  bending  quickly,  picked  up  some 
thing  from  the  ground  and  held  it  up  where  the 
light  of  the  torches  showed  it  plainly  to  all. 

It  was  a  little  finger  freshly  severed  from  a  left 
hand! 

"Marked  him!  By  gum,  I  marked  him!"  cried 
Ham  exultingly. 

"You  sure  did,  Ham/'  and  Mr.  Conroyal  bent 
hastily  and  examined  the  finger  carefully.  "It 
came  from  the  hand  of  a  white  man  all  right,"  he 
declared.  "And  the  hand  of  rather  a  small  man, 
the  left  hand.  Well,  you  will  know  your  man  the 
next  time  you  see  him,  Ham." 

"I  shore  will,"  grinned  Ham.  "An',  if  I  dew, 
I  wants  tew  return  him  his  finger;  so  I'll  jest  take 
charge  of  that  leetle  bit  of  anatominy,"  and,  reach 
ing  out,  he  took  the  finger  from  Thure,  and,  care 
fully  wrapping  it  up  in  a  piece  of  buckskin,  thrust 
it  into  one  of  his  pockets.  "Wai,  th'  excitement  is 
all  over  now,  boys,  an'  you  can  return  tew  y'ur 
downy  couches  an'  soft  pillers.  I  reckon  thar  won't 
be  no  more  owl  hootin'  tew-night,  leastwise  not 
from  that  bird,"  and  Ham  chuckled. 

All  now  returned  to  the  camp  and  to  their 
blankets;  and  Ham  resumed  his  watch  in  the  dark 
'shadows  under  the  big  tree. 

Ham  was  right.  There  was  no  more  owl  hoot 
ing  that  night.  But  the  finding  of  that  finger  had 
brought  uneasy  thoughts  to  all.  Evidently  they 


On  the  Shore  of  Goose  Neck  Lake       325 

had  not  succeeded  in  throwing  their  cunning 
enemies  off  the  trail.  And  now,  here  they  were 
within  a  few  hours'  march  of  Lot's  Canyon,  of  the 
Cave  of  Gold,  and  with  the  scoundrels  still  hot  on 
their  track !  What  was  to  be  done  ?  How  could 
they  now  hope  to  throw  Ugger  and  his  men  off  their 
trail,  when  all  their  efforts  so  far  had  been  in  vain  ? 
Indeed,  how  had  Ugger  and  his  men  been  able  to 
keep  on  their  trail,  through  all  the  maze  of  moun 
tains  and  forests  and  winding  gulches  and  twist 
ing  ravines  through  which  they  had  been  passing? 
That  was  a  great  mystery  to  all — to  all,  except 
Pedro. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

IN  LOT'S  CANYON 

THE  next  morning,  just  as  they  were  about  to 
start  on  their  way  Mr.  Conroyal  called  the 
little  company  together. 

"You  all  know  what  happened  last  night,  and 
what  it  means/'  he  said.  "In  spite  of  all  our  ef 
forts  to  throw  them  off,  that  Ugger  gang  apparently 
are  still  on  our  trail.  Now,  Dickson  says  that  we 
can  make  Lot's  Canyon  this  afternoon;  but,  if  we 
do,  them  skunks  will  be  sure  to  follow  us  and  to 
find  it,  too.  Under  such  circumstances  what  shall 
we  do?  Shall  we  try  again  to  fool  them,  by  not 
going  straight  to  the  canyon  to-day  and  see  if  we 
can't  slip  into  it  to-night  without  being  seen?  Or, 
shall  we  defy  them,  and  march  straight  for  the 
canyon,  without  any  effort  to  hide  our  trail  ?" 

'That  last  plan  hits  my  bull's-eye,"  declared  Ham 
emphatically.  "If  they  want  tew  foller,  let  'em 
foller.  If  they  want  tew  fight,  we'll  give  'em  all 
th'  fight  they  want,"  and  Ham's  lips  closed  grimly. 
"I'm  tired  of  tryin'  tew  dodge  th'  dirty  sneakin' 
murderin'  pack  of  cowards  any  longer.  I  gives 
my  vote  for  marchin'  as  straight  tew  Lot's  Canyon 
as  th'  good  Lord  an'  Dickson  can  take  us." 

326 


In  Lot's  Canyon  327 

"Bully  for  Ham!"  shouted  Bud  enthusiastically. 
"I  vote  with  Ham,"  and  he  sprang  to  Ham's  side. 

"So  do  I,"  and  Thure  followed  him. 

"Me,  too,"  and,  with  a  laugh,  Mrs.  Dickson  took 
her  stand  by  the  side  of  the  boys. 

And,  with  a  cheer,  all  the  others  joined  her. 

"Reckon  that  means,  straight  for  Lot's  Canyon. 
Lead  on/'  and  Mr.  Conroyal  turned  to  Dickson. 

Until  about  noon  the  trail  wound  around  great 
hills  of  rocks,  and  in  and  out  of  deep  gulches  and 
rocky  defiles,  and  over  high  ridges  of  rock;  and 
then,  just  as  the  sun  was  nearing  the  meridian, 
it  entered  a  broad  mountain-enclosed  valley,  some 
six  or  seven  miles  long  by  about  two  miles  wide. 
Near  the  upper  end  of  the  valley  a  tall  pinnacle 
of  rocks  shot  up  into  the  sky,  like  a  church  steeple, 
at  the  head  of  what  looked  like  an  almost  precip 
itous  mass  of  rocks  that  rose  many  hundreds  of 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  valley. 

"See  that  rock?"  and  Dickson  pointed  trium 
phantly  to  the  steeple-like  rock  at  the  head  of  the 
valley. 

"Shore,  not  bein'  blind/'  Ham  answered.  "What 
might  it  be  doin'  thar  ?"  and  he  grinned. 

"That  rock,"  and  Dickson  paused  to  glance 
around  the  circle  of  faces  that  now  surrounded 
him,  "stands  within  half  a  mile  of  the  Devil's  Slide, 
which  is  the  only  way  down  into  Lot's  Canyon. 
Boys,  we  should  be  in  Lot's  Canyon  in  two  hours !" 

"Hurrah!"  yelled  Thure. 


328  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"Hurrah !"  echoed  Bud. 

"Come  on/'  cried  Mr.  Conroyal.  "The  sooner 
we  get  there  the  better.  Pedro,  see  if  you  can't 
liven  up  them  pack-horses  a  little." 

"Si,  si,  senor,"  and  Pedro  began  hurling  volleys 
of  Mexican  oaths  at  the  pack-horses  and  running 
from  one  to  another  of  them,  striking  with  his  whip 
and  urging  with  his  voice,  until  the  patient  animals 
were  moving  as  fast  as  the  safety  of  their  packs 
would  permit. 

Pedro  appeared  to  be  in  unusually  good  spirits 
that  day.  All  the  gloom  of  the  day  before  had  van 
ished  with  the  dawning  of  the  morning  of  the  night 
of  the  hooting  owl. 

In  an  hour  and  a  half,  so  eagerly  did  they  press 
forward,  our  little  company  had  passed  the  steeple- 
like  pinnacle  of  rocks;  and  in  another  fifteen  min 
utes  they  had  climbed  to  the  top  of  a  ridge  of  rocks, 
and  were  looking  down  a  steep,  narrow  declivity, 
cut  by  the  wonderous  hand  of  nature,  in  a  pre 
cipitous  wall  of  solid  rock  that  rose  from  the  bot 
tom  of  a  canyon  five  hundred  feet  below  them. 
The  smooth  floor  of  the  declivity  was  not  over  a 
dozen  feet  wide  and  shot  downward  at  an  angle 
of  about  forty-five  degrees. 

"Gosh !  I  don't  wonder  Stackpole  called  that  Th' 
Devil's  Slide,"  and  Ham's  eyes  stared  down  the 
steep  slope  of  the  declivity.  "Ain't  thar  no  other 
way  of  gettin'  down  thar  intew  that  thar  canyon  ?" 
and  he  turned  to  Dickson. 


In  Lot's  Canyon  329 

"Not  that  I  know  of,"  Dickson  answered.  "That 
was  the  way  Stackpole  and  I  went.  It  is  not  as 
difficult  as  it  looks.  The  rock  is  not  slippery,  and, 
by  being  careful,  a  man  can  get  down  all  right. 
But  the  horses!  I  don't  know  about  them/'  and 
he  glanced  a  little  dubiously  toward  the  six  horses. 

"We'll  have  to  use  ropes  on  them,"  declared  Mr. 
Conroyal.  "Two  men  to  a  horse.  Get  out  the 
ropes." 

In  a  few  minutes  five  strong  ropes  had  been  se 
cured  from  the  packs,  and  preparations  were  im 
mediately  begun  for  helping  the  horses  down  the 
slide. 

There  were  ten  men  in  the  company,  including 
Pedro,  and  this  enabled  them  to  start  all  the  pack- 
horses  at  the  same  time  down  the  declivity.  The 
method  of  procedure  was  simple.  The  middle  of  a 
strong  rope  some  thirty  feet  long  was  placed  under 
the  neck  of  a  horse  and  across  the  breast  and  fas 
tened  there,  so  that  it  could  not  slip  down.  Then 
two  men  took  hold  of  the  rope,  one  at  each  end, 
and,  by  walking  a  little  behind  and  on  opposite  sides 
of  the  horse,  they  were  in  position  to  hold  back 
the  animal,  should  he  start  to  slide  or  get  to  going 
too  fast.  In  this  way  and  with  very  little  trouble, 
for  the  footing  down  the  declivity  was  much  better 
than  they  expected  it  would  be,  they  soon  had  the 
six  horses  safely  down  the  Devil's  Slide. 

All  now  stood  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep  canyon, 
with  walls  of  nearly  perpendicular  rock  rising  on 


330  The  Cave  of  Gold 

both  sides  from  five  hundred  to  a  thousand  feet 
above  their  heads.  The  bottom  was  strewn  with 
rocks  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  and  little  clumps  of 
trees  and  bushes  grew  here  and  there. 

'This/'  and  Dickson  glanced  a  bit  dramatically 
around  him,  "is  Lot's  Canyon.  The  white  pillar 
of  rock,  called  Lot's  Wife  on  the  map,  is  about  a 
couple  of  miles  farther  up  the  canyon,  and  near  it 
stands  the  Big  Tree,  and  close  by  that  tree,  ac 
cording  to  the  map,  should  be  the  hidden  entrance 
to  Crooked  Arm  Gulch.  And  it  must  be  well- 
hidden  too;  for,  when  I  was  with  Stackpole,  we 
couldn't  find  a  sign  of  a  gulch  near  the  Big  Tree, 
although  I  remember  we  looked  especially  sharp  for 
it  right  there,  because  the  Indian  had  told  Stack- 
pole  that  it  was  near  a  big  tree  and  that  was  the 
biggest  tree  we  could  find  in  the  canyon.  I  hope 
we  have  better  luck." 

"Let  us  hurry  and  get  to  the  Big  Tree,"  cried 
Thure  impatiently.  "I  am  sure  that,  if  there  is  any 
entrance  to  any  gulch  there,  some  of  us  can  find  it. 
Come  on,"  and  the  excited  boy,  with  Bud  by  his 
side,  started  up  the  canyon. 

Rex  and  Dill  and  Mr.  Dickson  at  once  joined  the 
two  boys,  and  the  five  hurried  eagerly  forward, 
leaving  the  others  to  come  on  more  slowly  with 
Pedro  and  the  horses. 

The  canyon  was  from  one  hundred  to  two  hun 
dred  feet  wide  at  the  bottom,  and  twisted  and  wound 
along  between  its  gigantic  walls  of  rock,  like  a  huge 


In  Lot's  Canyon  331 

serpent.  Doubtless  in  some  far  distant  age  it  had 
been  the  course  of  a  mighty  river;  but  now  not  a 
drop  of  water  flowed  along  its  rocky  bottom  and 
evidently  had  not  for  hundreds  of  years. 

"Looks  like  a  mighty  good  place  for  grizzlies," 
commented  Rex,  as  they  hurried  along  over  the 
rough  rocks  of  the  bottom. 

"And  there  has  been  one  here  not  many  minutes 
ago,"  supplemented  Dill,  pointing  to  the  bark  of 
a  tree  that  had  been  freshly  torn  by  the  sharp  claws 
of  some  powerful  animal. 

"And  there  he  is!"  cried  Thure,  as  they  made 
a  sudden  turn  around  a  huge  point  of  rocks,  pro 
jecting  a  few  feet  out  into  the  canyon,  and  came 
face  to  face  with  a  huge  male  grizzly  not  a  hun 
dred  feet  away. 

The  grizzly  appeared  to  be  very  greatly  aston 
ished  at  this  sudden  invasion  of  man  into  his 
hitherto  undisputed  realm  of  rocks,  and  a  little  of 
fended.  With  a  deep  bass-drum-like  "huff,  huff," 
he  reared  his  huge  body  up  on  his  hind  legs,  and, 
turning  his  wicked  little  eyes  on  them,  uttered  a 
deep  warning  growl,  as  much  as  to  say:  "Now, 
if  you  men  will  turn  right  around  and  go  back,  I 
will  not  harm  you." 

"Shall  we  shoot?"  asked  Thure,  cocking  his  rifle. 

"No,  not  if  the  brute  will  get  out  of  our  way," 
answered  Rex.  "We  have  no  time  to  fool  with 
grizzlies,"  and,  cocking  his  own  rifle,  he  started 
straight  toward  the  grizzly. 


332  The  Cave  of  Gold 

The  growl  of  the  bear  deepened,  and  he  made 
no  sign  of  giving  way  to  the  intruders. 

"All  right,  old  man/'  and  Rex  stopped  and  threw 
his  rifle  to  his  shoulder.  "Stand  ready  to  fire,  if 
my  bullet  fails  to  bring  him  down,"  he  warned,  as 
his  eye  glanced  swiftly  along  the  rifle  barrel. 

But  Rex  Holt  was  one  of  the  best  rifle  shots  in 
California,  and  knew  exactly  where  to  send  his 
bullet  in  order  to  make  it  instantly  fatal;  and  there 
was  no  need  of  a  second  shot,  for  almost  at  the 
instant  of  the  crack  of  his  rifle,  the  huge  beast,  with 
a  deep  startled,  "huff/'  and  a  staggering  leap  to 
ward  them,  tumbled  sprawlingly  to  the  ground,  as 
if  all  his  tough  muscles  had  been  suddenly  turned  to 
hot  tallow,  and  with  a  few  quiverings,  the  great 
frame  lay  still. 

"No  time  to  bother  with  him  now.  Let  him 
lay  there  for  the  present.  Come  on/'  and  Rex, 
pausing  by  the  side  of  the  grizzly  only  long  enough 
to  assure  himself  that  the  monster  was  dead,  hur 
ried  on  up  the  canyon. 

For  half  an  hour  longer  they  struggled  on  over 
the  broken  rocks  that  covered  the  bottom  of  the 
canyon;  and  then  they  came  to  where  the  canyon 
made  an  abrupt  turn,  and,  widening  out  a  little,  ran 
straight  ahead  for  half  a  mile  or  more. 

The  moment  they  made  this  turn  and  looked  up 
the  clear  stretch  of  canyon,  all  uttered  a  shout  of 
triumph.  Some  two  hundred  yards  from  them  and 


In  Lot's  Canyon  333 

near  the  east  wall  of  the  canyon  grew  a  huge  oak 
tree;  and,  perhaps  a  hundred  yards  farther  up  the 
canyon,  stood  a  tall  pillar  of  white  rock. 

"The  Big  Tree!"  yelled  Thure  exultingly,  start 
ing  on  the  run  for  the  tree. 

"Lot's  Wife!"  shouted  Bud,  racing  along  after 
Thure. 

Rex  and  Dill  and  Dickson  hastened  after  the  ex 
cited  boys ;  and,  in  a  few  minutes,  all  stood  beneath 
the  giant  branches  of  the  great  oak. 

The  tree  was  some  seventy-five  feet  high  and 
nearly  as  broad  as  it  was  high ;  and  its  huge  trunk 
grew  so  close  to  the  wall  of  the  canyon  that  the 
ends  of  its  great  limbs  on  that  side  had  been  pressed 
tight  up  against  the  rocks. 

"Well,  we  are  here  at  last!"  Thure's  face  was 
flushed  and  his  eyes  were  sparkling  with  excite 
ment.  "Now,  for  the  hidden  entrance  to  Crooked 
Arm  Gulch!"  and  his  eyes  turned  eagerly  to  the 
walls  of  the  canyon. 

The  wall  of  the  canyon  near  the  tree,  so  far  as 
their  eyes  could  judge,  was  a  solid  mass  of  cracked 
and  seamed  rocks,  that  sprang  from  the  bottom  of 
the  canyon  almost  straight  upward  for  five  hun 
dred  or  more  feet.  There  did  not  appear  to  be 
break  or  opening  of  any  kind,  nor  did  it  look  as 
if  there  ever  had  been  such  an  opening. 

For  half  an  hour  the  two  boys  and  Rex  and  Dill 
and  Mr.  Dickson  searched  excitedly  up  and  down 


334  The  Cave  of  Gold 

the  wall  of  the  canyon  near  the  tree,  without  one 
of  them  finding  the  first  sign  of  an  entrance  to  the 
hidden  gulch. 

"Great  Moses,  but  this  is  exasperating!"  com 
plained  Thure,  staring  indignantly  at  the  blank 
walls  of  rock.  'To  be  held  up  like  this,  when  al 
most  at  the  entrance  to  the  Cave  of  Gold!  But 
we  have  got  to  find  it,"  and  the  heat  of  his  excite 
ment  having  cooled  down  a  little,  he  began  a  more 
careful  and  systematic  search  of  the  face  of  the 
wall  of  rock. 

"Found  it?"  yelled  Ham,  who  at  this  moment 
came  round  the  turn  in  the  canyon  at  the  head  of  the 
remainder  of  the  company. 

"No,"  Dickson  called  back.  "Not  a  sign  of  an 
opening  anywhere  in  sight." 

"I  reckon  this  is  where  our  trouble  begins,"  Ham 
declared  a  few  minutes  later,  when  he  stood  near 
the  Big  Tree  and  searched  the  precipitous  side  of 
the  wall  of  rock  vainly  with  his  keen  eyes.  "It 
shore  don't  look  as  if  there  ever  had  ben  any  gulch 
entrance  thar." 

"Let  us  have  another  look  at  the  map,"  suggested 
Mr.  Conroyal,  after  all  had  searched  the  face  of 
the  wall  of  rock  in  vain  for  some  time.  "Possibly 
we  have  overlooked  some  little  point  of  guidance 
on  it." 

Thure  at  once  procured  the  map  and  handed  it 
to  his  father;  and  all  crowded  anxiously  around 


In  Lot's  Canyon  335 

him,  as  he  seated  himself  on  a  rock  and  spread  the 
map  out  on  his  knees. 

"This  sure  must  be  the  right  place,"  he  declared, 
as  he  glanced  down  at  the  map  and  then  up  and 
down  the  canyon;  "for  here  is  the  Big  Tree  and 
there,"  and  he  pointed  to  the  white  pillar,  "is  Lot's 
Wife,  and  that  slide  down  there  must  surely  have 
been  the  Devil's  Slide;  and,  if  this  is  the  right 
place,  then  the  entrance  to  Crooked  Arm  Gulch 
must  be  right  there,  according  to  this  map,"  and  he 
pointed  to  the  wall  of  rock  against  which  the  great 
limbs  of  the  tree  were  pressing. 

"Wai,  it  ain't  thar,"  and  Ham  turned  away  dis 
gustedly  from  the  map.  "Any  fool  with  eyes  in 
his  head  can  see  that  it  ain't  thar.  I  reckon  we've 
come  on  a  wild-goose  chase.  Let's  go  intew  camp 
an'  git  some  grub  down  us.  I'm  allfired  hungry, 
an'  it's  tew  late  tew  look  any  more  tew-day,"  and 
he  glanced  toward  the  west  wall  of  the  canyon,  up 
the  side  of  which  the  shadows  of  night  were  al 
ready  beginning  to  creep.  "Possibly  we  can  dew 
better  in  th'  mornin',  though  it's  more'n  I  can  see 
how,  seein'  that  thar's  nuthin'  but  th'  face  of  a 
solid  wall  of  rock  tew  search;  an'  we've  searched 
'bout  every  inch  of  that  that  we  can  a'ready,"  and 
he  threw  his  big  frame  down  on  the  ground  and 
stared  at  the  wall  of  rock  wrathfully. 

And  much  of  the  same  disappointment  and  dis 
gust  that  troubled  Ham  was  troubling  the  hearts 


336  The  Cave  of  Gold 

of  all ;  for  it  did  not  seem  possible  that  there  could 
be  any  entrance  to  any  gulch  anywhere  near  the 
Big  Tree.  The  wall  of  rock  was  too  steep  to  climb, 
but  the  eye  could  search  its  entire  face,  except  where 
the  limbs  of  the  giant  oak  hid  a  few  square  yards 
of  the  surface,  and  nowhere  was  there  a  break  in 
the  wall  nor  the  least  sign  of  an  opening  of  any 
sort,  let  alone  the  entrance  to  a  gulch.  This  was 
so  plainly  evident,  so  easily  and  so  quickly  to  be 
seen,  for  the  smooth  face  of  the  wall  of  a  canyon 
offers  few  opportunities  of  concealment,  that  the 
gloom  of  bitter  disappointment  deadened  the  spirits 
of  all ;  and,  consequently,  it  was  a  very  downhearted 
and  discouraged  company  of  men  that  now  started 
to  make  ready  for  the  night  under  the  overhanging 
branches  of  the  Big  Tree. 

All  the  next  day  the  search  was  continued,  but 
without  any  results. 

"Burn  th'  old  map!  Let's  throw  it  intew  th' 
fire  an'  git  back  tew  th'  diggin's,"  Ham  declared 
wrathfully,  as  they  gathered  for  the  night  under 
the  Big  Tree.  "Stackpole  shore  must  have  been 
loony  when  he  made  that  map." 

"Reckon  you  are  right,"  agreed  Mr.  Conroyal. 
"Well,  we'll  have  another  look  at  the  map;  and,  if 
we  can't  get  any  new  ideas  from  it,  we  will  do  as 
you  say  and  start  back  for  the  diggings  in  the  morn 
ing."  " 

"No;  no!  Just  one  more  day!  Let  us  look  one 
more  day!"  pleaded  Thure.  "I  can't  believe  that 


In  Lot's  Canyon  337 

Stackpole  did  not  find  that  Cave  of  Gold.  He  was 
so  sure  of  it,  so  earnest  about  it — and  there  is  the 
nugget  and  the  gold  he  had  with  him  when  mur 
dered  !  Let  us  look  just  one  more  day !" 

"Well,  son,  I  am  sure  that  we  all  are  just  as 
anxious  to  find  that  Cave  of  Gold  as  you  can  pos 
sibly  be;  but,  where  can  we  look  that  we  have  not 
already  looked?  What  is  the  use  of  going  over 
exactly  the  same  ground  that  we  have  already  been 
over  many  times?  It  isn't  a  question  of  sticking. 
I'd  say  stick  as  long  as  there  was  any  hope.  But, 
as  Ham  says,  any  fool  with  eyes  in  his  head  can 
see  that  there  is  no  gulch  opening  here.  Either 
Stackpole  was  crazy,  or  we've  struck  the  wrong 
canyon;  and,  in  either  case,  we  might  just  as  well 
give  up  the  search  and  get  back  where  we  know 
there  is  gold.  However,  I  will  put  the  matter  to 
a  vote;  and  we  will  do  as  the  majority  wishes. 
Shall  we  start  back  for  the  diggings  in  the  morn 
ing?  All  in  favor  of  starting  back  in  the  morning 
stand  up,"  and  Mr.  Conroyal's  eyes  glanced  over 
the  little  company  seated  around  him. 

All  arose  slowly  to  their  feet,  except  Thure  and 
Bud,  who  looked  almost  ready  to  cry  at  this  un 
timely  ending  of  all  their  romantic  dreams. 

"I  know  it  is  hard,  hard  on  us  all,  and  especially 
hard  on  you  two  boys/'  Mr.  Conroyal  said,  turn 
ing  sympathetically  to  the  lads.  "But  it  would  be 
foolish  to  waste  any  more  time  here.  Now,  let  us 
have  a  last  look  at  that  map,  before  we  fling  the 


338  The  Cave  of  Gold 

cussed  thing  into  the  fire,"  and  he  motioned  Thure 
to  hand  him  the  skin  map.  "We  don't  want  it  to 
fool  anybody  else." 

Thure  slowly  took  the  map  from  its  place  of  con 
cealment  in  his  shirt  bosom  and  reluctantly  handed 
it  to  his  father.  Then  all  bent  their  heads  over  it; 
but  there  was  little  interest  in  their  faces.  They 
had  examined  the  map  too  often  and  too  closely  to 
hope  to  find  anything  new  in  it  now. 

Suddenly  Mrs.  Dickson  uttered  a  little  exclama 
tion  and  pointed  with  her  finger  to  the  roughly 
drawn  tree  in  the  left  hand  corner  of  the  map. 

"I  wonder  if  that  tree,  with  the  arrow  pointing 
downward  toward  the  east  point  of  the  cross,  does 
not  mean  something/'  she  said. 

"Moses!"  yelled  Thure,  jumping  to  his  feet  ex 
citedly.  "It  does !  It's  the  key  to  the  whole  secret ! 
I  remember  now!  The  miner  said  the  gulch  was 
blocked  by  great  rocks,  that  we  must  climb  the  Big 
Tree  to  the  third  limb.  You  remember,  don't  you, 
Bud?"  and  he  turned  excitedly  to  Bud. 

"Yes,"  answered  Bud,  now  as  greatly  excited 
as  was  Thure  himself.  "He  said,  'Climb  to  the 
third  limb.  Remember,  climb  to  the  third  limb — 
third — third — '  and  then  he  choked  all  up.  Come! 
It  is  yet  light  enough  to  see !"  and  both  boys  made 
a  jump  for  the  huge  trunk  of  the  great  oak  tree  and 
began  climbing  up  it  almost  with  the  agility  of  two 
squirrels. 

"Gosh !     Thar  might  be  somethin'  in  that !"  and 


In  Lot's  Canyon  339 

Ham,  and  all  the  others,  jumped  to  their  feet  and 
followed  the  movements  of  the  two  boys  with  deeply 
interested  eyes. 

The  third  limb  was  about  twenty  feet  from  the 
ground,  of  huge  size  and  thrust  itself  straight  out 
to  the  rocky  wall  of  the  canyon,  against  which  its 
end  appeared  to  be  tightly  pressed. 

Along  this  limb  Thure  and  Bud  now  scrambled, 
as  swiftly  as  hands  and  feet  and  body  could  propel 
them,  Thure  in  the  lead.  The  limb  was  sufficiently 
large  and  strong  to  make  this  neither  difficult  nor 
dangerous.  In  a  few  minutes  they  were  at  the  face 
of  the  wall  of  rock.  Here  Thure  paused  for  a  mo 
ment,  then  he  was  seen  to  rise  on  his  feet,  push  a 
few  branches  aside,  and,  with  a  yell,  disappear. 
The  next  moment  he  was  followed  by  Bud. 

"Wai,  I'll  be  teetotally  durned !"  and  Ham  and 
the  others  stared  blankly  at  the  spot  where  the  two 
boys  had  disappeared. 

For  five  minutes  they  stood  staring  at  the  spot, 
without  speaking  a  word,  so  intense  was  their  in 
terest.  Then  the  heads  of  the  two  boys  appeared 
through  the  branches  almost  simultaneously;  and 
a  loud  yell  of  triumph  broke  wildly  from  the  mouth 
of  each. 

"Found !     Found !"  yelled  Thure. 

" We've  found  the  gulch !  Crooked  Arm  Gulch !" 
cried  Bud.  "Come  up  and  see." 

"Durned  if  I  don't!"  and  Ham  leaped  for  the 
trunk  of  the  tree,  followed  by  every  other  man  in 


34°  The  Cave  of  Gold 

the  company,  except  Pedro,  who,  together  with  Mrs. 
Dickson,  remained  below. 

"Not  too  many  on  the  limb  at  a  time/'  cautioned 
Rex,  who  had  succeeded  in  reaching  the  third  limb 
first.  "It  might  break/'  and  he  began  working  his 
way  along  it,  closely  followed  by  Dill. 

In  a  couple  of  minutes  he  had  reached  the  open 
ing  in  the  wall  of  rock,  a  jagged  hole  some  four 
or  five  feet  in  diameter,  into  which  the  sturdy  limb 
had  thrust  itself  in  such  a  manner  that  its  branches 
completely  concealed  all  signs  of  the  opening  from 
below. 

"Great!  This  is  great!"  Rex  exclaimed,  as  he 
pushed  his  way  through  the  branches  into  the  hole. 

In  a  few  minutes  more  all  were  through  the  hole, 
and  were  standing  on  a  narrow  shelf  of  rock,  look 
ing  down  into  a  deep,  narrow  gulch,  whose  bottom 
was  considerably  below  the  level  of  the  bottom  of 
Lot's  Canyon. 

"By  gum!  if  we  ain't  struck  th'  right  spot  at 
last !"  and  Ham  stared  in  astonishment  up  the  gulch 
to  where  it  made  a  bend,  like  a  crook  at  the  elbow  in 
a  man's  bent  arm.  "Thar's  th'  Golden  Elbow,"  and 
he  pointed  to  the  bend;  "an'  this  shore  must  be 
Crooked  Arm  Gulch.  Wai,  this  is  what  I  call 
luck!  Hurra!"  and  he  swung  his  hat  around  his 
head  and  yelled  at  the  very  top  of  his  strong  lungs ; 
and  every  man  there  joined  with  him  in  the  yell; 
and  the  rocky  walls  of  the  narrow  gulch  echoed 
and  reechoed  the  sound,  until  it  seemed  as  if  a 


In  Lot's  Canyon  34* 

hundred  men  were  shouting  their  joyous  yells  of 
triumph. 

"Too  bad  it  is  so  late  in  the  day  that  we  must 
put  off  exploring  the  gulch  until  to-morrow,"  Mr. 
Conroyal  lamented,  when  the  excitement  had  some^ 
what  quieted  down. 

"Oh,  dad,  just  let  us  see  if  the  cave  is  really 
there !"  begged  Thure. 

"Impossible.  See  how  swiftly  the  dark  shadows 
of  night  are  gathering.  We  must  hasten  back  to 
Lot's  Canyon  at  once.  In  fifteen  minutes  it  will 
be  too  dark  to  see  our  way  plainly.  Come  on,  every 
body.  I  reckon  the  Little  Woman  is  some  curious 
to  know  what  has  been  happening  up  here,"  ^nd, 
smiling  happily,  he  started  back  toward  the  open 
ing,  followed  by  all  the  others. 

When  they  again  reached  the  ground  at  the  bot 
tom  of  the  Big  Tree,  they  found  Mrs.  Digksorj 
alone.  She  said  that  Pedro  had  asked  permission 
to  go  back  to  where  the  grizzly  bear  had  been  filled 
to  get  a  chunk  of  bear  steak  for  their  supper,  and 
had  hurried  off,  taking  one  of  their  rifles  with  him, 
as  soon  as  she  had  said  yes.  She  was  nearly  wild 
with  joy,  when  told  of  the  find  they  had  made,  an4 
vowed  that  she  would  go  with  them  in  the  morning, 
when  they  started  out  to  look  for  the  Cave  of  Gold, 
in  spite  of  the  seemingly  dangerous  climb  alorig  the 
big  limb  of  the  Big  Tree. 

Half  an  hour  later  Pedro  returned  with  a  big 
chunk  of  bear  meat,  which  was  sqqft  roasting 


342  The  Cave  of  Gold 

on  wooden  spits  placed  around  the  blazing  camp- 
fire. 

That  was  as  joyful  an  evening  as  the  night  be 
fore  had  been  gloomy.  Even  the  saturnine  spirits 
of  Pedro  seemed  greatly  affected  by  the  general 
hilarity;  for  his  sallow  face  was  all  smiles  and  his 
little  black  eyes  snapped  and  twinkled,  as  he  passed 
hither  and  thither  among  the  men,  and  he  was  very 
careful  to  place  the  pan  in  which  he  washed  the 
dishes  within  easy  hearing  distance  of  every  word 
they  might  utter.  Indeed,  it  seemed  almost  im 
possible  for  him  to  tear  himself  away  from  the 
sound  of  their  voices ;  and,  when  he  was  compelled 
to  go  to  the  little  spring  they  had  discovered  some 
twenty  rods  distant  from  the  Big  Tree,  after  water, 
he  had  gone  there  and  back  on  the  run,  as  if  he 
was  fearful  that  something  might  be  said  while  he 
was  away  that  he  ought  to  hear.  But,  to  all  this, 
our  friends  gave  no  heed,  save  that  Ham  once  or 
twice  turned  his  eyes  on  Pedro's  excited  face,  with 
just  a  flicker  of  suspicion  in  them. 

"Wai,  I  don't  wonder  he's  some  excited,  seein' 
us  so  upset,"  he  thought.  "Still  thar  won't  be  no 
harm  in  keepin'  as  much  as  possible  from  him.  I 
don't  believe  in  trustin'  a  Mexican  nohow,  any 
more  than  you've  got  tew,"  and  Ham  lowered  his 
own  voice  and  cautioned  the  others  to  do  likewise, 
when  Pedro  was  near.  "Jest  tew  be  on  the  safe 
side,"  he  explained. 

"We  must  de  doubly  cautious  now,"  warned  Mr. 


In  Lot's  Canyon  343 

Conroyal,  when  they  made  ready  for  bed,  "and  keep 
somebody  on  guard  night  and  day  all  the  time;  for 
now  that  we  have  found  the  secret  of  Crooked  Arm 
Gulch  them  devils  are  likely  to  be  down  upon  us  at 
the  first  unguarded  moment.  We  will  put  four 
men  on  guard  again  to-night.  Rex,  you  and  Dill 
and  Bud  and  his  father  can  stand  guard  for  the  first 
half  of  the  night ;  and  you  can  call  Ham  and  Frank 
and  Thure  and  me  to  relieve  you  about  one  o'clock. 
Now,  get  to  your  stations  and  we  will  get  to  our 
blankets.  Good  night,  everybody/'  and  he  began 
rolling  himself  up  in  his  blanket. 

An  example  that  all  except  the  guards  followed 
very  speedily. 


CHAPTER  XXV, 

THE  CAVE  OF  GOLD 

THERE  were  no  disturbances  during  the  night; 
and  the  dawn  of  the  next  morning  found  every 
body  up  and  awaiting  eagerly  the  moment  when 
there  would  be  sufficient  light  in  the  canyon  to  make 
the  climbing  of  the  Big  Tree  and  the  entrance  into 
Crooked  Arm  Gulch  safe.  At  last  Mr.  Conroyal 
declared  that  the  great  moment  had  come. 

"But,"  and  he  glanced  around  the  little  group  of 
eager  faces,  "Ham  and  I  think,  and  I  am  sure  you 
will  all  agree  with  us  when  you  stop  to  consider 
the  matter,  that  we  ought  to  leave  at  least  one  man 
here  to  stand  guard  with  Pedro.  Now,  under  the 
circumstances,  I  had  rather  not  say  who  that  man 
shall  be,  but  will  ask  for  a  volunteer.  Who  is  will 
ing  to  offer  himself  up  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  good 
of  the  public?"  and  Mr.  Conroyal  smiled. 

For  a  moment  all  stood  staring  blankly  into  one 
another's  faces.  No  one  appeared  to  be  in  the  least 
anxious  to  make  this  sacrifice.  And  no  wonder! 
For,  now  at  the  very  moment  they  were  about  to 
explore  the  mysteries  of  the  dead  miner's  wonderful 
Cave  of  Gold,  who  would  care  to  be  left  behind? 

344 


The  Cave  of  Gold  345 

Then,  with  a  smile  on  his  face,  Frank  Holt  stepped 
forth. 

"Reckon  I'll  stay  and  keep  company  with  Pedro/' 
he  said.  "I'm  not  as  young  as  I  once  was,  and 
crawling  along  that  limb  some  twenty  feet  above 
the  ground  looks  some  dangerous  to  legs  as  old 
as  mine.  But  I'd  like  to  have  one  of  you,  if  you 
find  the  cave  all  right,  come  and  let  me  know,"  and 
the  sparkle  in  his  eyes  told  how  great  was  his  in 
terest  in  the  result. 

"I'll  come  right  back  and  relieve  you,  dad,  just 
as  soon  as  we  find  the  cave  and  see  what  it  is  like," 
Rex  Holt  promised.  "Then  you  can  go  and  see 
for  yourself.  It  was  great  of  you  to  offer  to  stay. 
I'll  be  back  soon.  Good-by,"  and  he  hurried  after 
the  others,  who  were  already  climbing  the  Big 
Tree. 

Pedro,  all  the  morning,  had  been  as  feverish  with 
excitement  as  had  any  of  the  others,  and  had 
watched  their  every  movement,  as  a  cat  watches  a 
caught  mouse,  and  had  tried  to  overhear  every  word 
uttered ;  but,  at  the  first  mention  of  a  guard  being 
left  with  him,  he  had  muttered  a  Mexican  oath  and 
had  turned  angrily  and  sullenly  away,  all  his  ex 
citement  gone.  Evidently  he  had  counted  a  great 
deal  on  being  left  alone  with  the  horses  and  the 
camp  supplies,  when  the  search  for  the  Cave  of 
Gold  was  made;  and,  consequently,  the  leaving  of 
a  guard  with  him  had  been  a  very  great  disappoint 
ment.  But  he  was  too  cunning  to  allow  this  dis- 


346  The  Cave  of  Gold 

appointment  to  be  seen  by  his  employers,  and  had 
turned  quickly  away  to  hide  his  feelings,  until  he 
was  again  his  usual  suave  self;  and  so  he  did  not 
hear  the  promise  of  Rex  to  hasten  back  as  soon  as 
the  cave  was  found  and  relieve  his  father. 

You  may  be  sure  that  there  were  no  laggards 
among  the  climbers  up  the  Big  Tree  and  along  the 
limb  and  through  the  entrance  into  Crooked  Arm 
Gulch;  and  soon  all  stood  on  the  little  shelf  of 
rock,  from  which  they  had  had  their  first  view  of 
the  gulch  the  night  before. 

"Now,  th'  first  thing  tew  dew  is  tew  git  down 
tew  th'  bottom,"  commented  Ham,  as  the  eyes  of 
all  eagerly  searched  the  walls  of  the  gulch. 

'That  looks  easy!  Right  this  way!"  and  Thure 
began  excitedly  clambering  down  the  rocks. 

The  shelf  of  rock  on  which  they  stood  was  some 
fifty  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  gulch;  and  from 
it  a  series  of  shelves  and  jutting  rocks  made  an 
easy  pathway  downward,  for  mountaineers  as  ex 
perienced  as  they  were,  and  soon  all  our  friends 
stood  at  the  bottom  of  Crooked  Arm  Gulch. 

"Now  for  the  Golden  Elbow!"  shouted  Thure. 
"I  want  to  be  the  first  one  in  the  Cave  of  Gold," 
and  he  started  up  the  gulch  as  fast  as  he  could  go, 
jumping  and  climbing  over  the  rocks  that  nearly 
covered  its  bottom. 

"Same  here!"  and,  with  a  yell,  Bud  started  after 
him. 

In  a  moment  all,  even  the  gray-haired  men,  had 


The  Cave  of  Gold  347 

joined  madly  in  the  race.  Evidently  Thure  was 
not  the  only  one  who  wished  to  be  the  first  in  the 
Cave  of  Gold. 

The  gulch  was  narrow,  only  about  a  couple  of 
rods  wide  at  the  place  where  our  friends  had  reached 
the  bottom,  and,  some  three  hundred  yards  from 
here,  it  made  a  turn,  like  the  crook  in  a  man's  bent 
arm.  This  was  evidently  the  Golden  Elbow,  and 
the  point  for  which  all  were  racing. 

Thure,  owing  to  his  start  and  his  long  legs,  was 
the  first  to  reach  this  spot,  but  Bud  was  not  six 
feet  behind  him.  Then  came  Rex  and  Dill  and  the 
others,  with  Dickson  and  his  wife  pantingly  bring 
ing  up  the  rear.  All  had  stopped  directly  in  front 
of  the  point  of  the  turn,  and  now  stood  staring  ex 
citedly  around  them,  looking  for  the  entrance  to 
the  Cave  of  Gold  and  looking  in  vain. 

In  front  of  them  the  wall  of  the  gulch  had  been 
hollowed  out  into  a  great  overhanging  arch, 
seventy-five  or  more  feet  in  height  and  some  fifteen 
feet  deep. 

Could  this  be  the  miner's  Cave  of  Gold  ? 

Surely  not;  for  there  was  no  need  of  torch  here, 
and  the  bottom  certainly  was  not  covered  with  gold 
nuggets,  but  with  hundreds  of  pieces  of  broken  rock, 
some  of  them  as  large  as  two  strong  men  could  lift. 

"Wai,  I  swun,  if  it  don't  look  as  if  we  was  up 
ag'in  it  ag'in,"  and  Ham  stared  excitedly  around. 
"But,  if  thar  is  any  cave  here,  it  must  be  right  in 
thar.  Come,  git  busy,"  and  he  began  clambering 


348  The  Cave  of  Gold 

over  the  rocks  toward  the  back  wall  of  the  arch. 
'Til  bet  a  coonskin  that  I  can  find  it  first." 

"Take  you !"  shouted  Thure  and  Bud,  both  clam 
bering  swiftly  after  him. 

In  a  minute  more  all  were  searching  excitedly 
for  the  hidden  entrance  to  the  cave,  along  the  en 
tire  back  wall  of  the  arch ;  but  the  rocks  of  the  bot 
tom  seemed  to  meet  a  solid  wall  of  rock  at  the  back. 

"Say,  but  isn't  it  enough  to  make  even  a  Job 
swear  to  be  held  up  like  this,  right  at  the  most  ex 
citing  moment!"  and  Thure  stopped  in  front  of  a 
large  flat  rock,  that  had  fallen  so  that  it  stood 
nearly  on  edge,  leaning  against  the  back  wall  of 
the  arch.  "Come,  give  me  a  hand;  and  let's  see 
what  is  behind  this  rock,"  and  he  turned  to  Bud, 
who  stood  near  him.  "It  looks  almost  as  if  it  might 
have  been  stood  up  there  on  purpose." 

In  a  moment  the  strong  arms  of  the  two  boys 
were  tugging  at  the  huge  slab  of  rock ;  and,  at  last, 
with  a  mighty  effort,  they  pulled  it  away  from  the 
wall  and  toppled  it  over  backward,  and  it  fell,  with 
a  crash,  on  the  rocks  between  them,  revealing  a 
black  opening  in  the  solid  rock. 

"Hurrah!"  yelled  Bud. 

"Found !"  shouted  Thure ;  and  both  excited  boys 
made  a  dive  for  the  hole,  with  the  result  that  their 
bodies  stuck  tightly  in  the  opening,  the  hole  not  be 
ing  large  enough  to  accommodate  the  entrance  of 
both  of  them  at  the  same  time. 

Ham  and  Mr.  Conroyal  pulled  them  out;  and 


The  Cave  of  Gold  349 

then  Ham  thrust  his  big  body  into  the  opening — 
he  could  just  squeeze  in — and  began  cautiously 
working  his  way  forward.  It  was  not  a  venture 
for  an  excited  boy  to  make,  the  entrance  into  that 
black  hole  without  a  light. 

In  about  five  minutes  Ham  came  backing  hur 
riedly  out. 

"Who's  got  th'  candles?"  he  cried  excitedly. 
"Thar  sart'in  is  a  cave  in  thar ;  but  it  is  as  dark  as 
the  bottomless  pit.  We  must  have  lights  before  we 
can  enter.  Give  me  a  candle/' 

"Here,  here  they  are !"  and  Mr.  Conroyal  who  in 
the  excitement  of  the  moment  had  forgotten  the 
package  of  a  couple  of  dozen  candles  he  had  tied 
up  and  slung  over  his  back  just  before  climbing 
the  tree  that  morning,  quickly  swung  the  package 
down  on  a  rock  in  front  of  him  and  cut  the  strings. 

Ham  caught  up  one  of  the  candles,  and,  hur 
riedly  lighting  it,  again  crawled  into  the  hole,  hold 
ing  the  candle  out  in  front  of  him. 

Thure  and  Bud  both  caught  up  candles  and  light 
ing  them,  looked  imploringly  at  their  fathers. 

Both  men  nodded,  and  the  boys  dove  into  the 
hole;  but  this  time  separately. 

"The  rest  of  us  had  better  wait  outside  until  we 
hear  from  Ham  and  the  boys,"  Mr.  Conroyal  said, 
staring  anxiously  into  the  hole. 

For  perhaps  ten  minutes,  although  to  the  anxious 
and  excited  watchers  outside  it  seemed  more  like 
an  hour,  not  a  sound  came  from  the  hole  into  whose 


350  The  Cave  of  Gold 

black  depths  the  three  men  had  vanished.  Even 
the  lights  of  their  candles  had  disappeared.  Then, 
suddenly,  the  excited  voice  of  Thure  was  heard, 
booming  out  through  the  hole. 

"It's  the  cave,  the  Cave  of  Gold!"  he  cried  ex 
ultantly,  his  voice  trembling  with  excitement. 
"Come  in,  all  of  you.  There  is  room  for  all.  I 
will  hold  my  candle  so  that  you  can  see." 

"Here,  Dickson,  you  go  first,  and,  Mollie,  you 
follow  right  behind  him,"  and  Mr.  Conroyal  pushed 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dickson  excitedly  toward  the  cave 
opening,  and  motioned  Rex  and  Dill  and  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  to  follow  them,  he  himself  entering  last. 

The  hole  slanted  downward  for  some  ten  feet, 
then,  enlarging  a  little,  turned  to  the  right  and  ran 
straight  ahead  for  some  thirty  feet,  still  slanting 
quite  steeply  downward,  when  it  suddenly  opened 
out  into  a  large  chamber,  worn  by  the  action  of 
water,  apparently,  out  of  the  solid  rock. 

In  five  minutes  all  our  excited  friends  stood  in 
this  chamber  or  cave  and  were  staring  wonderingly 
around  them.  They  found  themselves  in  a  room, 
some  thirty  feet  long  by  twenty  feet  wide  at  the 
widest,  with  an  oval  slanting  roof,  shaped  some 
thing  like  the  inverted  quarter  of  an  egg-shell. 
The  bottom  of  the  cave  was  level  and  composed  of 
a  very  coarse  gravel,  mixed  with  little  rounded 
chunks  of  a  yellowish  metal,  that  glowed  in  the 
light  of  the  candles  like  thousands  of  dull  yellow 
coals  of  fire. 


is  noi.n  !  IT  is  GOLD  !  AND  ENOUGH  OF  IT  TO  MAKE  us  ALL  RICH 

1JEYONI)  OUR  FONDEST  DREAMS."     ;,-,-,-,       ^ 


The  Cave  of  Gold  351 

In  an  instant  everybody  was  down  on  their  knees 
examining  these  chunks  of  metal.  For  a  couple  of 
minutes  no  one  spoke.  Then  Ham  lifted  his  head 
and  looked  slowly  around  him,  as  if  he  were  trying 
to  convince  himself  that  he  was  really  awake. 

"Gosh!"  he  said,  in  a  voice  hardly  above  a 
whisper.  "It  is  gold !" 

"It  is  gold!"  and  Mr.  Conroyal  looked  up,  his 
face  white  and  his  eyes  shining.  "It  is  gold;  and 
enough  of  it  to  make  us  all  rich  beyond  our  fondest 
dreams.  No  wonder  the  miner  called  it  the  Cave 
of  Gold." 

"Gold !  Gold !  Now  Ruth  shall  have  her  breast 
pin  nugget  and  gold  necklace!"  and  Thure,  with 
hands  that  trembled  so  that  he  could  hardly  hold 
the  candle,  began  an  excited  search  for  the  largest 
chunk  of  gold  that  he  could  find.  In  two  minutes 
he  had  found  one  about  the  size  and  the  shape  of 
a  robin's  egg.  "The  very  thing !"  he  cried.  "That 
will  make  a  magnificent  breastpin,"  and  he  quickly 
picked  it  up  and  began  searching  for  the  nuggets 
to  go  into  the  promised  necklace. 

During  this  time  Bud  was  quickly  gathering  up 
the  largest  nuggets  he  could  find;  for  a  similar 
purpose  but  for  a  different  girl;  and  the  fingers  of 
all  the  others  were  busy  in  the  same  exciting  way. 

For  half  an  hour  all  forgot  everything,  but  the 
shining  pellets  that  covered  the  bottom  of  the  cave. 
Then  Rex  suddenly  straightened  up. 

"Great  Washington!     I'm  forgetting  dad!"  he 


352  The  Cave  of  Gold 

exclaimed.  "I  must  go  to  dad  at  once/'  and  he 
started  for  the  hole  that  gave  passageway  to  the 
outer  world. 

Naturally  Rex  was  greatly  excited  and  made  all 
possible  haste  to  get  back  to  his  father  with  the  good 
news.  The  distance  was  not  great,  and  in  ten  min 
utes  he  had  reached  the  hidden  entrance  to  Crooked 
Arm  Gulch,  and,  hurriedly  crawling  through  the 
narrow  opening,  he  pushed  the  concealing  branches 
aside — and  found  himself  looking  directly  into  the 
red  face  of  Bill  Ugger. 

"God  in  heaven!"  and  Rex  struck  out  with  all  the 
strength  of  his  strong  right  arm. 

The  face  was  not  three  feet  away  and  the  blow 
landed  squarely  on  the  broken  nose.  There  was  a 
low  cry,  the  crash  of  broken  branches,  and  the  huge 
body  of  Bill  Ugger  plunged  downward  from  the 
limb. 

For  an  instant  Rex  stared  blankly  after  the  body ; 
and  then,  suddenly  realizing  the  value  of  every 
moment,  if  they  would  not  all  be  caught  in  a  trap 
from  which  there  would  be  no  escape,  he  whirled 
about  and  raced  back  to  the  Cave  of  Gold,  almost 
wild  with  the  thought  of  what  might  happen,  if  the 
gang  of  robbers  should  capture  their  horses  and 
supplies  and  hold  them  captive  in  Crooked  Arm 
Gulch,  as  they  could  easily  do,  once  they  secured 
possession  of  the  Big  Tree.  Then  there  was  his 
father.  What  had  happened  to  him  ?  No  wonder 
his  face  went  white,  and  he  risked  limb  and  life  a 


The  Cave  of  Gold  353 

dozen  times  in  his  mad  scramble  down  the  rocks  and 
up  the  gulch  and  into  the  opening  of  the  Cave  of 
Gold. 

"Quick!  Everybody,  back  to  the  Big  Tree!"  he 
shouted,  as  he  plunged  into  the  cave,  where  our  ex 
cited  friends  were  still  busily  picking  up  the  nug 
gets.  "The  robbers!  They  have  got  dad! 
Quick!"  and  he  whirled  about  and  rushed  back. 

In  an  instant  the  gold  was  forgotten.  Every 
man  jumped  for  his  rifle,  which  had  been  left  near 
the  entrance  to  the  cave,  and  sprang  after  Rex,  leav 
ing  the  startled  and  frightened  Mrs.  Dickson  to  fol 
low  as  best  she  could. 

There  was  not  one  of  them  but  understood  on  the 
instant  the  seriousness  of  their  peril.  If  the  rob 
bers  secured  their  horses  and  supplies  and  held  the 
entrance  to  Crooked  Arm  Gulch,  they  would  be  ab 
solutely  at  their  mercy ;  for,  so  far  as  they  knew,  the 
only  way  out  of  the  gulch  was  by  way  of  the  Big 
Tree,  and  half  a  dozen  men,  armed  with  rifles,  could 
hold  this  narrow  opening  against  their  most  des 
perate  efforts  to  get  out,  and  in  a  few  days,  could 
starve  them  into  surrender,  for  they  had  no  food 
with  them.  They  must  at  all  costs,  if  it  was  not  al 
ready  too  late,  keep  the  entrance  to  Crooked  Arm 
Gulch  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  robbers. 

Hammer  Jones,  by  desperate  efforts,  reached  the 
side  of  Rex,  just  as  he  was  about  to  plunge  into  the 
passageway  between  Crooked  Arm  Gulch  and  Lot's 
Canyon ;  and  one  of  his  great  hands  closed  down  on 


354  The  Cave  of  Gold 

the  excited  man's  shoulder  just  in  time  to  stop  the 
reckless  act. 

"Cautious!  Cautious!"  warned  Ham,  as  he 
jerked  Rex  back.  "If  them  skunks  have  got  th' 
camp,  'twill  be  death  to  sot  foot  on  that  big  limb." 

"But,  dad—" 

"  'Twon't  help  him  none  for  you  tew  git  killed. 
I'll  take  a  look  first,"  and  the  great  strength  of 
Ham  forced  Rex  back,  while  he  himself  began  cau 
tiously,  yet  rapidly,  crawling  through  the  narrow 
opening. 

In  a  moment  he  had  reached  the  limb  of  the  Big 
Tree,  and,  carefully  parting  the  branches  so  as  to 
make  no  noise,  he  cautiously  looked  down. 

The  camp  had  been  pitched  under  the  Big  Tree 
almost  directly  beneath  him;  and  the  first  look 
showed  him  everything  apparently  safe  and  undis 
turbed.  The  next  look — and,  with  the  cry :  "Come 
on,  everybody,  as  quick  as  th'  Lord  will  let  you,"  he 
sprang  out  on  the  limb  and  began  working  his  way 
down  the  tree  so  recklessly  that  more  than  once  he 
was  in  danger  of  falling.  The  moment  he  reached 
the  ground  he  leaped  toward  an  object  that  lay 
tightly  bound  up  in  a  blanket  on  the  ground  near 
the  trunk  of  the  tree;  and,  with  a  swift  hand  began 
cutting  the  ropes  that  were  tightly  wound  around  it 
from  head  to  foot,  in  a  manner  exactly  similar  to 
that  in  which  they  had  found  Mrs.  Dickson  on  the 
night  she  had  been  so  mysteriously  bound  in  her 
tent. 


The  Cave  of  Gold  355 

By  the  time  Rex  had  reached  his  side  he  had  un 
covered  Frank  Holt,  with  his  hands  bound  behind 
him  and  a  gag  in  his  mouth,  but  otherwise  unhurt, 
except  for  a  big  lump  on  the  back  of  his  head.  In 
a  moment  more  Rex  had  pulled  the  gag  out  of  his 
father's  mouth  and  Ham  had  freed  his  hands. 

"Pedro !"  Holt  gasped  and  staggered  a  little  diz 
zily  to  his  feet.  "He  struck  me  down  from  behind, 
and  tied  and  gagged  me,  as  you  found  me.  Where 
is  Pedro  ?"  and  he  looked  excitedly  and  a  bit  wildly 
around.  "Ah,  now  I  remember,"  and  his  face 
cleared.  "He  has  gone  for  the  rest  of  the  gang. 
I  overheard  him  and  another  man,  after  I  had  re 
covered  my  senses  and  lay  tightly  bound  up  in 
the  blanket,  planning  how  he  would  go  and  get 
the  rest  of  the  gang,  while  the  other  man  climbed 
the  tree  and  kept  guard  over  the  narrow  opening. 
Their  plan  was  to  capture  the  camp  and  hold  the 
Big  Tree,  so  that  none  of  you  could  get  out  of 
Crooked  Arm  Gulch,  and  then  starve  you  into  sur 
rendering  everything;  and  they  came  mighty  nigh 
doing  it,"  and  he  glanced  anxiously  down  the  can 
yon.  "They'll  be  due  in  about  half  an  hour,  I  judge 
from  what  I  overheard.  They  were  not  calculating 
on  any  of  you  getting  back  so  soon,"  and  he  smiled 
grimly. 

"But  that  other  man?  Where  is  that  other 
man?"  and  Mr.  Conroyal — by  this  time  all,  even 
Mrs.  Dickson,  had  made  their  way  down  the  Big 
Tree — looked  anxiously  around. 


356  The  Cave  of  Gold 

Rex  started  and  glanced  quickly  toward  the  wall 
of  the  canyon,  directly  under  the  opening  to  Crooked 
Arm  Gulch ;  and  then  his  face  cleared. 

"I  reckon  that's  him,"  and  he  pointed  to  a  hud 
dled  heap  that  lay  on  the  rocks.  "I  knocked  him  off 
the  limb  of  the  Big  Tree.  But,  we  had  better  make 
sure  he  is  where  he  can  do  no  harm,"  and  he  hurried 
to  the  body.  "Dead  as  a  stone.  Neck  broken,"  he 
declared,  as  he  turned  the  corpse  over. 

"Broken-nose!  It's  Broken-nose!"  and  Thure, 
who  had  hurried  up  with  Rex,  started  back,  as  the 
man's  face  came  into  view. 

"Wai,  th'  world's  better  off  by  havin'  one  less 
scoundrel  in  it,"  and  Ham  scowled  down  on  the 
face  of  Bill  Ugger,  ugly  and  repulsive  even  in  death. 
"Now,"  and  he  turned  quickly  to  Holt,  "didn't  you 
say  that  thar  Mexican  skunk,  Pedro,  had  gone  tew 
git  th'  rest  of  th'  gang?" 

"Yes,"  answered  Holt;  "and  we  must  be  ready 
for  them,  when  they  get  here.  They  are  camped 
down  near  the  Devil's  Slide;  and  I  calculate  it  will 
take  them  about  half  an  hour  yet  to  get  here." 

"An'  the  skunks  are  a-calculatin'  on  findin'  th' 
camp  unguarded?"  and  Ham's  eyes  began  to 
twinkle  brightly. 

"Yes,  I  heard  Pedro  tell  the  other  fellow  that  he 
felt  quite  sure  none  of  us  would  be  back  for  two 
hours  or  more;  but,  to  make  things  safe,  Broken- 
nose,  as  Thure  calls  him,  said  he'd  climb  the  tree 
and  knock  the  head  off  anyone  that  tried  to  come 


The  Cave  of  Gold  357 

through  the  narrow  opening  into  Crooked  Arm 
Gulch.  I  reckon  Rex  got  there  just  at  the  right 
moment  to  spoil  that  little  game." 

"I  certainly  did,"  and  Rex  smiled  grimly.  "A 
minute  later,  and  he  would  have  got  me,  instead  of 
my  getting  him.  But,  we  must  be  getting  ready 
for  the  return  of  Pedro/'  and  his  eyes  glanced  anx 
iously  down  the  canyon. 

"Say,"  and  Ham  turned  to  Conroyal,  "why  can't 
we  give  them  th'  same  kind  of  a  s'prise  they  was 
a-calculatin'  on  givin'  us  ?  They  ain't  expectin'  tew 
find  us  here,  an'  will  come  a  rushin'  up  unsuspicious- 
like,  an',  if  we  hide,  we  can  give  'em  a  mighty  warm 
reception  a-fore  they  know  what's  happenin'." 

"Bully!  Where'll  we  hide?"  and  Mr.  Conroyal 
glanced  eagerly  around.  "There,  those  rocks  will 
be  just  the  place,"  and  he  pointed  up  the  canyon  to 
where  a  row  of  big  rocks  stood  up,  almost  like  a 
rampart,  something  like  a  hundred  feet  from  the 
Big  Tree.  "Now  we  must  leave  the  camp  looking 
just  as  it  was  when  Pedro  left  it.  Here,  somebody, 
quick,  we'll  tie  the  body  of  Ugger  up  in  the  blanket, 
and  leave  it  where  we  found  Frank.  That  will  sure 
fool  them,"  and  he  hurried  to  where  the  corpse  of 
Ugger  lay;  and,  in  a  few  minutes,  the  body  was 
tightly  bound  up  in  a  blanket  and  laid  down  on  the 
exact  spot  where  Ham  had  found  Holt. 

"All  got  plenty  of  powder  and  lead?"  and  Mr. 
Conroyal  glanced  swiftly  from  man  to  man. 

All  answered  in  the  affirmative. 


358  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"Then  get  behind  the  rocks,"  and,  with  a  final 
look  around  the  camp  to  see  that  every  suspicious 
sign  had  been  removed,  Mr.  Conroyal  led  his  little 
company  to  the  rocky  rampart  to  await  the  coming 
of  Pedro  and  the  band  of  robbers ;  and  soon  all  had 
vanished  from  the  sight  of  anyone  coming  up  the 
canyon. 

In  front  of  them  and  the  Big  Tree  there  was  a 
space  some  three  hundred  feet  wide,  clear  of  trees 
or  underbrush  or  rocks  large  enough  to  shield  a 
man. 

"We  will  wait  for  them  until  they  get  out  into  the 
open/'  Mr.  Conroyal  said,  pointing  to  this  space. 
"Now  everybody  see  that  his  rifle  and  pistols  and 
knife  are  ready ;  and  remember  to  keep  down  out  of 
sight  and  on  no  account  to  fire  until  I  give  the 
word." 

They  did  not  have  long  to  wait;  for  hardly  had 
Mr.  Conroyal  uttered  his  last  words  of  warning, 
when  they  saw  Pedro  coming  around  the  bend  in 
the  canyon  some  two  hundred  yards  below  them. 
At  first  Pedro  advanced  very  cautiously,  darting 
from  rock  to  rock  and  keeping  his  body  concealed 
as  much  as  possible;  but,  at  last,  coming  to  where 
he  could  get  a  clear  view  of  the  camp  and  seeing 
nothing  to  awaken  his  suspicions,  he  appeared  to 
be  satisfied  that  all  was  safe  and  turned  and  began 
beckoning  excitedly  with  both  his  hands.  In  re 
sponse  a  little  company  of  heavily  armed  men  in 
stantly  sprang  into  sight,  coming  from  around  the 


The  Cave  of  Gold  359 

bend  in  the  canyon,  and  hurried  up  to  where  Pedro 
stood  awaiting  them. 

For  two  or  three  minutes  they  stood  there,  while 
Pedro,  gesticulating  excitedly  and  frequently  point 
ing  toward  the  quiet-seeming  little  camp  under  the 
Big  Tree,  appeared  to  be  explaining  the  situation  to 
them.  Then  all  began  advancing  cautiously,  yet 
rapidly  toward  the  Big  Tree,  taking  advantage  of 
the  rocks  and  trees  and  bushes  to  conceal  their 
movements  as  much  as  possible. 

"Here  they  come !"  whispered  Thure  excitedly  to 
Bud,  as  the  men  began  their  advance.  He  had  his 
eye  to  a  little  opening  between  the  two  adjoining 
rocks  behind  which  the  boys  were  crouching.  "I 
counted  twenty  of  them  and  I  think  there  are  one  or 
two  more.  Say,  but  won't  we  give  them  a  big  sur 
prise  ?" 

"You  bet !"  and  Bud's  jaws  came  together  grimly. 

"Keep  down!  Everybody  keep  down!"  warned 
Mr.  Conroyal  in  a  whisper.  "Don't  shoot,  until  I 
give  the  order ;  and  then  jump  to  your  feet  and  pick 
your  man  and  fire  as  quick  as  the  Lord  will  let  you ; 
but,  be  sure  you  have  got  the  bead  on  the  man  be 
fore  you  pull  the  trigger.  We  must  down  as  many 
of  them  as  possible  at  the  first  volley.  Now,  every 
body  get  ready.  They  will  be  out  in  the  open  in  a 
minute  or  two,"  and  he  turned  to  give  his  attention 
to  the  advancing  robbers. 

By  this  time  Pedro  and  his  men  had  reached  the 
line  of  rocks  and  bushes  that  faced  the  opening  in 


360  The  Cave  of  Gold 

front  of  the  rocks  behind  which  our  friends  lay 
concealed ;  and  here  they  paused  for  a  moment,  each 
man  behind  a  rock,  and  searched  with  careful  eyes 
the  camp  under  the  Big  Tree. 

"There's  Pockface!"  excitedly  whispered  Bud, 
who  now  had  his  eye  to  the  crack  between  the  two 
stones,  "behind  that  big  rock  straight  in  front  of 
us,  the  skunk.  Now,  just  wait,  until  we  get  the 
order  to  fire/'  and  his  lips  closed  tightly. 

At  this  moment  Ham,  who  crouched  behind  a  rock 
by  the  side  of  Mr.  Conroyal,  whispered : 

"I'll  be  durned  if  I  don't  believe  we  can  capture 
the  hull  caboodle,  if  we  jest  wait  'til  they  git  'most 
up  tew  us,  an'  then  jump  up  sudden  an'  point  our 
guns  at  them  an'  yell,  'hands  up!'  an'  that'll  be  a 
heap  better'n  tew  let  half  on  'em  git  away  tew  bother 
us  all  the  way  back  tew  civilerzation." 

"Right,  I  believe  you  are  right.  Anyway  we  will 
try  it.  Watch  them,  while  I  give  the  right  instruc 
tions,"  and  Mr.  Conroyal  crept  swiftly  to  near  the 
center  of  the  little  group  behind  the  rampart  of 
rocks. 

"Men,"  he  said,  speaking  low,  yet  loud  enough 
for  all  to  hear,  "we  are  going  to  try  to  capture  the 
whole  bunch  of  scoundrels.  At  the  word,  every  one 
of  you  jump  to  his  feet  and  point  his  rifle  at  the 
skunks  and  yell  'Hands  UP!'  I  reckon  that  will 
bring  every  hand  up ;  but,  if  it  don't  and  any  of  them 
act  suspicious  or  make  a  break,  shoot  quick,  and 
shoot  to  kill.  Do  you  all  understand  ?" 


The  Cave  of  Gold  361 

All  nodded  and  Mr.  Conroyal  returned  at  once  to 
his  place  by  the  side  of  Ham. 

At  this  moment  the  robbers  broke  from  the  rocks 
and  ran  swiftly  out  into  the  open  toward  the  Big 
Tree. 

"Ready,  everybody  ready!"  whispered  Mr.  Con- 
royal. 

On  came  the  robbers,  until  they  were  within  sev 
enty-five  feet  of  the  rocks  behind  which  our  friends 
.were  hiding. 

"Now!"  yelled  Mr.  Conroyal,  and  leaped  to  his 
feet,  and  leveled  his  rifle.  "Hands  UP !"  he  com 
manded. 

And  almost  at  the  same  moment  all  the  others, 
— even  Mrs.  Dickson — leaped  to  their  feet,  and 
leveled  their  rifles,  and  yelled:  "Hands  UP!" 

The  robbers  stopped,  as  if  they  had  suddenly  run 
into  a  stone  wall,  turned  their  startled  eyes  on  the 
leveled  rifles  and  the  stern-faced  men  back  of  them 
— and  then,  every  hand  went  up,  as  if  worked  by 
one  shaft  of  machinery,  every  hand  except  the 
hands  of  Pockface,  who,  doubtless  thinking  that  his 
capture  would  mean  death  anyway,  whirled  about 
suddenly  and  leaped  toward  the  rocks  behind 
him. 

At  the  same  instant  Ham's  rifle  cracked ;  and  the 
legs  of  Pockface  doubled  up  under  him,  and  he  went 
down,  like  a  shot  rabbit. 

That  was  enough  for  the  rest  of  the  men. 

"Don't  shoot.     We  surrender,"  they  all  yelled, 


362  The  Cave  of  Gold 

holding  their  hands  as  high  as  they  could  above  their 
heads. 

"Rex,  you  and  Dill  get  their  guns  and  knives. 
The  rest  of  you  keep  them  covered  with  your  rifles," 
commanded  Mr.  Conroyal. 

Rex  and  Dill,  with  broad  grins  on  their  faces,  in 
stantly  stepped  forth,  and  soon  had  all  the  weapons 
of  the  robbers  safely  confiscated. 

Fifteen  minutes  later,  every  robber  lay  on  his 
back  under  the  Big  Tree,  his  hands  and  feet  firmly 
bound  with  strong  ropes.  There  were  twenty-one 
of  them ;  and  our  friends  were  too  wise  to  take  any 
needless  chances. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  CATASTROPHE 

UNTOW,  the  question  is,  what  shall  we  do  with 

1  ^1  our  captives?"  and  Mr.  Conroyal  glanced  a 
little  anxiously  around  the  circle  of  faces  that  had 
gathered  about  him,  a  short  time  after  all  the  rob 
bers  had  been  safely  bound.  "We  cannot  hang 
them,  as  they  deserve,  and  we  have  not  food  enough 
to  keep  them,  and  it  will  be  hardly  safe  to  turn  them 
loose.  What  do  you  think  we  had  better  do,  Ham  ?" 
and  he  turned  to  Hammer  Jones. 

"First  off/'  answered  Ham,  "we'd  better  make  a 
raid  on  their  camp  an'  git  all  their  hosses  an'  sup 
plies.  Maybe  that'll  answer  th'  food  question;  for, 
I  reckon,  they  must  have  come  well  supplied,  seein' 
that  Ugger  an'  Quinley  would  have  plenty  of  gold- 
dust  tew  buy  with." 

"Good,"  promptly  declared  Mr.  Conroyal.  "You 
and  Rex  and  Dill  and  Dickson  make  that  raid  at 
once  on  their  camp,  which,  I  fancy,  you  will  find 
somewhere  near  the  Devil's  Slide." 

Ham  proved  to  be  right;  for,  when  he  and  the 
men  who  went  with  him,  returned  from  the  raid, 
isome  two  hours  later,  they  had  with  them  fifteen 
horses,  ten  of  which  were  heavily  laden  with  food 

363 


364  The  Cave  of  Gold 

and  other  camp  supplies,  and  one  prisoner,  the  man 
who  had  been  left  to  guard  the  camp. 

"Now,  I  reckon,  we've  got  them  all,  twenty-tew 
livin'  an'  tew  dead/'  Ham  declared,  as  he  bound  his 
prisoner  and  placed  him  with  the  other  captives: 
"an'  right  whar  we  can  keep  them  out  of  mischief. 
Thar's  plenty  of  food  for  all,  Con,"  and  he  turned  to 
Conroyal,  "leastwise  for  a  few  days,  so  th'  food 
problem  is  settled.  Now,  what  are  you  proposin' 
of  dewin'  ?  We  want  tew  git  th'  gold  an'  git  out  of 
here  as  soon  as  we  can,"  and  he  lowered  his  voice. 

"I  can't  see  but  one  thing  for  us  to  do,  Ham," 
Mr.  Conroyal  answered,  "and  that  is  to  keep  a  guard 
over  the  prisoners,  while  the  rest  of  us  get  the  gold 
out ;  and  then,  when  we've  got  the  gold,  to  turn  them 
loose  in  the  mountains,  without  weapons  or  horses, 
and  make  for  home  as  fast  as  we  can.  We've  been 
considering  the  problem,  while  you  were  after  the 
horses  and  camp  supplies,  and  that  is  the  conclusion 
that  we  have  come  to.  How  does  it  strike  you?" 

"  'Bout  right,  under  th'  circumstances,"  answered 
Ham.  "An'  th'  sooner  we  git  things  a-goin'  ag'in 
th'  better.  I'm  gettin'  some  anxious  tew  git  back 
intew  that  cave." 

"We'll  get  busy  at  once,"  declared  Mr.  Conroyal. 
"But  first,  I  reckon,  we  ought  to  bury  them  two 
corpses.  'Twouldn't  be  Christian  to  leave  them  to 
rot  a-top  the  ground  or  to  be  ate  up  by  wolves." 

"Shore,"  agreed  Ham.  "Come  on,  Rex.  We're 
th'  responsible  fellers,  an',  I  reckon,  it's  up  tew  us 


The  Catastrophe  365 

tew  dig  th'  grave.  We'll  put  'em  both  in  one 
grave,"  and  he  picked  up  a  pick  and  shovel  and 
started  to  where  the  body  of  Quinley  lay. 

In  a  short  time  the  two  men  had  the  grave  dug. 

"Now  for  the  bodies,"  and  Ham  caught  hold  of 
Quinley  and  turned  the  body  over.  "Wai,  I  swun !" 
and  he  stared  down  at  the  left  hand.  The  little 
finger  had  been  recently  shot  away  and  the  wound 
was  still  roughly  bandaged.  "So  y'ur  th'  feller  that 
I  owe  a  finger  tew.  Wai,  here  it  is,"  and  he  thrust 
his  hand  into  his  pocket  and  pulled  out  the  little 
buckskin- wrapped  parcel,  containing  the  little  finger 
that  he  had  shot  from  the  unknown  hand  the  night 
they  were  encamped  on  the  shore  of  Goose  Neck 
Lake,  and  laid  it  down  on  the  corpse. 

"Now,  I  reckon,  we'll  have  to  see  if  you  have  any 
of  that  stolen  gold-dust  left,"  and  Ham  began  a 
search  of  the  body,  which  resulted  in  the  finding  of 
a  heavily  laden  gold-belt  buckled  around  the  waist, 
next  to  the  skin. 

Ham  at  once  appropriated  this ;  and  then  the  two 
men  lowered  the  body  into  the  grave.  A  similar 
belt,  also  well-filled  with  gold-dust,  was  found 
around  the  body  of  Bill  Ugger.  Ham  unbuckled 
this  belt  and  placed  it  with  the  other.  Then  he  and 
Rex  lifted  the  body  of  Ugger  and  carried  it  to  the 
grave  and  lowered  it  down  on  top  of  the  body  of 
Quinley;  and  then  filled  the  grave  with  broken 
pieces  of  rocks  and  dirt,  to  prevent  the  wolves  from 
digging  up  the  bodies. 


366  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"Th'  way  of  th'  transgresser  is  hard,  accordin' 
tew  th'  good  book,"  and  Ham's  eyes  rested  thought 
fully  on  that  lonely  new-made  grave.  "An'  shore 
th'  end  of  them  tew  'pears  tew  bear  out  th'  good 
book.  Wai,  th'  dead  is  dead,  an'  that's  all  thar  is 
tew  it.  Now,  for  th'  livin',"  and  he  turned  from 
the  grave  and  walked  up  to  where  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Dickson  were  standing,  the  two  confiscated  gold- 
belts  in  his  hand. 

"Here,  Dick,  I  reckon,  is  a  part  of  th'  gold  them 
skunks  got  from  you,"  and  he  handed  the  two  belts 
to  Dickson.  "Leastwise  we  got  them  from  their 
bodies." 

But  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dickson  refused  to  take  the 
gold  and  insisted  that  it  be  placed  in  the  common 
fund,  to  be  shared  by  all  alike,  so  Ham  turned  the 
two  gold-belts  over  to  Mr.  Conroyal. 

The  camp  was  now  placed  under  the  strictest  dis 
cipline.  Ten  of  the  prisoners  were  compelled  to 
assist  in  getting  the  gold  from  the  cave.  The  others 
were  kept  bound  and  under  constant  guard,  night 
and  day,  all  except  Pedro,  who,  during  the  day, 
was  forced  to  do  the  cooking  and  the  camp  work 
for  all,  while  at  night  he  was  securely  bound  and 
returned  to  his  place  with  the  other  prisoners. 

Thus  the  work  of  getting  the  gold  out  of  the  cave 
went  steadily  on  for  five  days,  every  one,  even  Mrs. 
Dickson,  working  to  the  very  limit  of  his  or  her  en 
durance.  Then  came  the  night  of  the  catastrophe. 

The  gold,  as  fast  as  it  was  taken  out  of  the  cave, 


The  Catastrophe  367 

was  carried,  in  sacks  made  from  blankets,  to  the 
opening  in  the  wall  of  rock  that  gave  entrance  to 
Crooked  Arm  Gulch,  and  from  there  lowered  to  the 
ground  with  ropes.  Each  night  all  the  workers  re 
turned  to  the  camp  under  the  Big  Tree.  On  this 
night,  the  sixth  night  from  the  day  of  the  finding  of 
the  Cave  of  Gold,  about  midnight,  there  suddenly 
swept  through  the  air  above  them  one  of  those  rare, 
for  that  time  of  the  year,  but  often  very  violent, 
mountain  storms. 

For  an  hour  the  water  fell  out  of  the  skies,  as  if 
poured  from  an  enormous  bucket.  The  wind  blew, 
until  it  seemed  almost  to  shake  the  solid  mountains 
themselves,  while  vivid  glares  of  lightning  blinded 
the  eyes  and  heavy  peals  of  thunder  deafened  the 
ears.  Then  came  a  lull  in  the  violence  of  the  storm, 
as  if  the  elements  had  paused  to  gather  themselves 
for  a  last  supreme  effort,  followed  almost  instantly 
by  a  glare  of  lightning  so  vivid,  that,  for  the  mo 
ment,  it  seemed  as  if  the  whole  world  was  ablaze, 
and  a  shock  of  thunder,  so  appalling,  that  everyone 
leaped  from  his  blanket  and  stood  staring  with 
blanched  face  and  frightened  eyes  around  him,  not 
knowing  what  awful  thing  was  happening.  For 
two  or  three  minutes  the  dreadful  sounds  continued, 
as  if  mountains  were  being  torn  up  by  the  roots  and 
thrown  crashing  to  the  earth  again,  while  the 
ground  shook  and  trembled  beneath  their  feet,  as  if 
the  earth  had  the  ague.  Then,  only  the  roar  of  the 
falling  rain  and  the  rushing  of  the  wind  through  the 


368  The  Cave  of  Gold 

limbs  of  the  Big  Tree  above  their  heads,  was  heard. 
Fifteen  minutes  later  the  rain  had  ceased,  the  wind 
had  died  down,  the  clouds  had  swept  by,  and  the 
stars  were  shining  again  in  a  clear  sky. 

The  next  morning,  when  our  friends,  on  their 
way  to  the  Cave  of  Gold,  reached  the  narrow  shelf 
of  rock  in  Crooked  Arm  Gulch,  from  which  they 
had  had  their  first  view  of  the  Golden  Elbow,  an 
astonishing  sight  met  their  eyes. 

The  great  arch,  overhanging  the  entrance  to  the 
Cave  of  Gold,  with  its  millions  of  tons  of  superin 
cumbent  rocks,  had  given  away,  and  the  whole  of 
that  side  of  the  gulch,  nearly  a  thousand  feet  high 
and  for  a  couple  of  hundred  feet  on  either  side,  had 
split  off  and  fallen  in  a  great  mass  of  rocks,  hun 
dreds  of  feet  high,  where  the  day  before  had  been 
the  entrance  to  the  dead  miner's  marvelous  Cave  of 
Gold. 

For  a  number  of  minutes  all  stood  staring  at  this 
unexpected  and  astounding  sight  in  awed  silence. 
No  wonder  it  had  sounded  the  night  before  as  if 
mountains  were  being  torn  up  and  thrown  down 
again!  No  wonder  the  ground  beneath  them  had 
shook  and  trembled  from  the  impact  of  those  millions 
of  tons  of  rocks ! 

"Gosh!  I'm  glad  I  ain't  in  that  Cave  of  Gold!" 
and  Ham  turned  an  awed  face  to  the  others.  "If 
that  storm  had  corned  up  in  th'  daytime,  some  on 
us  might  be  in  thar  right  now.  I  reckon  we've  got 


The  Catastrophe  369 

all  th'  gold  th'  Lord  intended  us  tew  git,  an'  now 
we'd  better  git  for  home." 

"Well,  if  that  was  the  Lord's  work,  He  has  been 
mighty  accommodating  to  wait  until  we  got  all  the 
gold  we  need,"  and  Mr.  Conroyal  smiled.  "I  was 
thinking  last  night  that  we  had  about  enough,  and 
had  better  be  starting  for  home.  Mighty  curious 
place,  that  Cave  of  Gold ;  and  I  have  been  wonder 
ing  quite  a  bit  how  the  gold  got  into  it ;  and  this  is 
about  the  way  I  figure  it  out : 

"Thousands  of  years  ago,  how  many  thousands 
God  alone  knows,  there  must  have  been  a  great 
river  pouring  through  Lot's  Canyon,  with  its  bed 
hundreds  of  feet  below  the  present  bottom  of  the 
canyon ;  and,  at  that  time,  there  must  also  have  been 
a  powerful  stream  of  water  flowing  through  this 
gulch,  and  emptying  into  the  river  in  Lot's  Can 
yon,  through  a  great  hole  worn  through  the  solid 
wall  of  rock,  which  is  now  completely  hidden  under 
the  rocks  that  have  fallen  down  into  the  gulch  dur 
ing  the  ages  since  both  rivers  dried  up.  Now,  in 
making  that  turn,"  and  he  pointed  to  where  the 
Golden  Elbow  had  been,  "I  figure  that  the  water 
struck  a  soft  ledge  of  gold-bearing  rock,  and  grad 
ually  scooped  out  a  big  cave  right  in  the  point  of 
the  turn,  and,  of  course,  as  the  gold  was  washed 
out  of  the  rock,  it  would  fall  to  the  bottom  of  the 
cave,  and,  being  in  quite  large  chunks,  it  was  too 
heavy  for  the  action  of  the  water  to  carry  it  out  of 


370  The  Cave  of  Gold 

the  cave,  while  the  water  would  carry  out  nearly  all 
the  other  dirt  and  gravel,  thus  leaving  the  bottom 
of  the  cave  covered  with  gold  nuggets,  the  way  we 
found  it.  And,  after  the  river  had  dried  up,  rocks 
from  the  arch  at  the  entrance  to  the  cave  would  fall 
off,  and  little  by  little  fill  up  the  entrance  and  form 
the  big  arch  we  found.  Now,  that's  about  the  way 
the  gold  came  into  the  cave,  according  to  my  figure- 
ing.  What's  your  idea,  Rad?"  and  Mr.  Conroyal 
turned  to  Rad  Randolph. 

"I  think  that  you've  hit  it  about  right,  Con,"  an 
swered  Mr.  Randolph.  "But,  now  that  there  is  no 
hope  of  getting  any  more  gold  out  of  that  cave,  I 
am  getting  powerful  anxious  to  make  a  start  for 
home  with  what  we  have  got.  Let's  go  back  to  the 
Big  Tree  at  once  and  get  agoing  homeward  as  soon 


as  we  can." 


"Hurrah  for  home!"  yelled  Thure,  starting  for 
the  opening  out  of  Crooked  Arm  Gulch.  "I'd  rather 
see  home  now  than  another  Cave  of  Gold." 

In  a  few  minutes  all  were  back  in  the  camp  under 
the  Big  Tree ;  and  preparations  for  the  start  home 
ward  were  begun  at  once. 

In  three  hours  everything  was  ready  for  the  jour 
ney.  The  gold,  there  was  fifty  bags  of  it,  each 
weighing  about  one  hundred  pounds,  was  packed 
on  the  fifteen  horses  they  had  secured  from  the  rob 
bers.  Mrs.  Dickson  was  given  one  of  the  other 
horses  to  ride,  and  the  food  and  the  camp  supplies 
were  packed  on  the  remaining  five  horses. 


The  Catastrophe  371 

The  twenty-two  prisoners  were  now  all  gathered 
in  a  bunch  under  the  Big  Tree,  and  the  hands  of 
each  man  strongly  tied  behind  his  back.  Then  Mr. 
Conroyal  stepped  out  in  front  of  them. 

"You  cowardly  pack  of  scoundrels,"  he  said,  "if 
we  could,  we  would  gladly  take  you  to  where  we 
could  deliver  you  up  to  the  justice  you  so  richly 
deserve;  but,  under  existing  circumstances,  that  is 
impossible;  and  so  we  have  decided  to  leave  you 
here,  bound  as  you  now  are,  without  weapons  of 
any  kind,  but  with  food  enough  to  last  you  three 
days,  which  ought  to  be  enough  to  keep  you  until 
you  can  get  to  one  of  the  mining-camps.  Doubt 
less,  by  working  real  hard,  you  can  manage  to  get 
the  hands  of  one  of  you  untied  in  course  of  the  next 
two  or  three  hours,  and  then  he  can  soon  untie  the 
hands  of  the  others,  and  you  can  start  for  one  of 
the  mining-camps  as  soon  as  you  please.  But,"  Mr. 
Conroyal  spoke  slowly,  so  that  every  man  could  un 
derstand  every  word  that  he  uttered,  "do  not,  if  you 
value  your  lives,  follow  our  trail.  We  will  shoot, 
and  shoot  to  kill,  on  sight.  Now,  that  is  all  I  have 
to  say  to  you,  except,"  and  he  grinned  joyously,  "to 
thank  you  for  bringing  us  those  fifteen  horses  and 
for  your  help  in  getting  out  the  gold.  I  do  not 
know  what  we  would  have  done  without  the  horses 
and  without  your  help.  Hope  this  will  learn  you  to 
give  up  trying  to  steal  gold  and  start  you  to  digging 
for  it,"  and  he  turned  and  led  the  little  company 
down  the  canyon,  bound,  at  last,  for  home. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

HOME 

TEN  days  later  than  the  events  just  recorded  in 
the  last  chapter,  lola  Conroyal  and  Ruth  Ran 
dolph  sat  swinging  in  a  hammock,  stretched  under 
the  broad  porch  that  shaded  the  front  of  the  Con- 
royal  house. 

"I  wish  we  could  hear  from  our  dads  and  the 
boys,"  lola  said,  as  the  two  girls  swung  gently  back 
and  forth.  "It  seems  like  a  long  time  now  since 
Thure  and  Bud  left  us;  and  we  haven't  heard  a 
word  from  them  since  they  went  away ;  and  so  many 
things  might  have  happened  to  them.  Why,  they 
may  already  have  found  the  Cave  of  Gold,  and  right 
at  this  moment  they  may  be  picking  up  gold  nuggets 
by  the  basketful !"  and  her  dark  eyes  sparkled  at  the 
thought. 

"Yes/*  it  has  been  a  long  time  since  we  heard 
from  the  mines/'  answered  Ruth;  "and  our  mothers 
are  beginning  to  worry,  more  than  they  let  us  know. 
They  are  afraid  that  the  hunt  for  the  Cave  of  Gold 
will  get  them  into  some  kind  of  trouble  with  the  men 
who  murdered  the  old  miner  for  the  skin  map,  and 
then  failed  to  get  it.  And — and  not  to  hear  a  word 
from  them,  when  so  many  things  might  happen,  is 

372 


Home  373 

terrible  worrying.  Oh,  I  do  hope  they  find  that 
Cave  of  Gold,  and  get  enough  gold  to  make  us 
rich  all  the  rest  of  our  lives !"  and  her  face  bright 
ened.  "That  is  the  way  it  would  come  out  in  a  story 
book ;  and  I  can't  see  why  it  can't  happen  that  way  in 
real  life,  just  this  once.  I  dreamt,  only  last  night, 
that  they  came  back  with  a  string  of  horses  a  mile 
long  and  all  of  them  loaded  down  with  gold.  And — 
and,"  and  her  face  flushed  a  little,  "Thure  brought 
me  a  nugget  as  big  as  my  head,  and  a  necklace  of 
nuggets  that  reached  to  the  ground,  when  he  threw 
it  around  my  neck.  Oh,  if  something  like  that  would 
only  happen  in  real  life !"  and  she  laughed  merrily 
at  her  own  extravagant  conceit. 

"And  I  dreamt — "  and  then  lola  stopped  abruptly. 

A  faint  halloo,  coming  from  far-off,  at  this  mo 
ment  had  reached  the  ears  of  both  girls,  and  brought 
them  out  of  the  hammock  in  one  jump,  and  turned 
their  two  pairs  of  eyes  to  staring  excitedly  across  the 
level  of  the  valley  in  front  of  the  house. 

A  mile  away  they  saw  two  horsemen,  swinging 
their  hats  around  their  heads  and  hallooing  loudly, 
riding  excitedly  toward  the  house ;  and  back  of  them 
came  a  long  train  of  horses  and  men. 

For  a  minute  the  two  girls  stood,  as  if  turned  to 
stone,  staring  with  widening  eyes  at  those  two 
horsemen,  at  the  train  of  horses  and  men  behind 
them ;  and  then,  with  a  yell  that  made  their  mothers 
jump  from  the  chairs  where  they  were  sitting  in 
the  cool  of  the  house  and  rush  to  the  door,  they 


374  The  Cave  of  Gold 

leaped  off  the  porch  and  ran  toward  the  two  horse 
men. 

"It's  Thure  and  Bud!  It's  dad  and  the  rest!" 
they  shouted,  as  they  ran. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  racing  boys — for  the  two 
horsemen  were  Thure  and  Bud — and  the  running 
girls  met. 

The  boys  jumped  from  their  saddles,  and,  the  next 
instant,  they  were  in  the  arms  of  the  girls. 

"We  found  it!  We  found  it!"  shouted  Thure,  a 
moment  later,  dancing  up  and  down  with  excite 
ment.  "We  found  the  Cave  of  Gold!  And  here," 
and  he  thrust  one  of  his  hands  into  his  pocket,  "is 
your  breastpin  nugget !"  and  he  handed  the  big  gold 
nugget  he  had  found  to  Ruth.  "And  here  is  your 
necklace  of  gold  nuggets!"  and  he  threw  over  the 
happy  girl's  head  and  around  her  neck  a  long  string 
of  gold  nuggets  that  he  had  strung  on  a  deer  sinew, 
during  the  homeward  journey. 

Bud,  during  this  time,  had  been  going  through  the 
same  delightful  performance  with  lola. 

That  was  the  most  wonderful  night  in  the  history 
of  the  Conroyal  and  the  Randolph  households ! 

First,  of  course,  after  the  greetings  were  over, 
the  gold  had  to  be  taken  off  the  horses  and  carried 
into  the  house  and  piled  up  in  the  center  of  the  floor 
of  the  big  room ;  and  then,  with  all  of  the  two  fam 
ilies  and  all  of  the  friends  who  took  part  in  the 
search  for  the  Cave  of  Gold,  not  forgetting  you  may 
be  sure  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dickson,  seated  in  a  circle 


Home  375 

around  the  piled-up  bags  of  gold,  the  story  of  the 
adventures  of  Thure  and  Bud  and  the  finding  of  the 
dead  miner's  marvelous  Cave  of  Gold  had  to  be 
told. 

"Oh,  dear !  Oh,  dear !"  sighed  lola  happily,  when, 
at  last,  the  tale  was  ended.  "It  is  just  like  a  story 
out  of  a  book;  and  I  wouldn't  believe  it  at  all,  if  I 
couldn't  see  the  gold  piled  up  right  in  front  of  me. 
Now,"  and  her  eyes  looked  wonderingly  at  the  bags 
of  gold,  "how  much  is  all  that  gold  worth?  Is  it 
worth  a  Hundred  Thousand  Dollars  ?"  and  her  eyes 
grew  big  with  the  thought  of  the  enormous  wealth 
that  lay  within  touch  of  her  hand. 

"I  reckon  it  is,"  laughed  Mr.  Conroyal.  "But, 
supposing  we  see  just  about  how  much  it  is  worth. 
Thure,  you  and  Bud  go  and  get  the  big  scales,  and 
we  will  weigh  it." 

In  a  few  minutes  the  two  boys  returned,  carrying 
between  them  a  small  platform  scales,  capable  of 
weighing  a  few  hundred  pounds  at  a  time,  and  set 
it  down  by  the  side  of  the  pile  of  bags  of  gold. 

Mr.  Conroyal  now  placed  the  bags  of  gold,  four 
at  a  time,  on  the  scales,  and  announced  their 
weights ;  and  Thure  and  Bud,  pencils  and  paper  in 
their  hands,  set  down  the  amounts.  When  the  last 
bag  had  been  weighed,  all  waited  anxiously  while 
the  two  boys  added  up  the  various  amounts.  Thure 
was  the  first  to  finish  the  addition. 

"Five  thousand  one  hundred  and  three  and  a  half 
pounds!"  he  yelled. 


376  The  Cave  of  Gold 

"Exactly  what  I  got/'  announced  Bud  a  moment 
later. 

"Give  me  the  pencil  and  paper/'  and  Mr.  Con- 
royal  caught  the  pencil  and  paper  from  Thure's 
hands.  "I'll  see  about  what  that  amount  of  gold 
is  worth/'  and  he  began  figuring  on  the  paper,  with 
hands  that  trembled  just  a  little  with  excitement. 
Presently  he  looked  up,  his  face  flushed  and  his  eyes 
shining. 

"Of  course  I  can't  tell  exactly  how  much  the  gold 
is  worth,"  he  said,  "not  knowing  exactly  how  much 
it  will  bring  an  ounce ;  but,  I  am  sure  we  can  count 
on  its  bringing  a  Million  Dollars,  a  Million  Dollars, 
boys !  And  that,  since  there  were  ten  in  the  com 
pany,  will  give  each  one  of  us  at  least  One  Hundred 
Thousand  Dollars !" 

"Great  Moses !  That  means  that  we  are  all  rich ! 
Hurrah !"  and  Thure  jumped  to  his  feet  and  yelled 
so  loudly  that  Tola  thrust  her  mantilla  over  his 
mouth,  fearing  that  the  glad  noise  might  bring  the 
roof  down  on  their  heads. 

"And  that  we  can  now  go  to  our  dear  home  in 
New  York/'  Mrs.  Dickson  said  softly,  pressing  the 
hand  she  held  of  her  husband  and  looking  happily 
into  his  eyes. 


THE   END 


LOAN  DEPT 


YB  68423 


